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THE OLD PATHS; 



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EMBRACING COPIOUS EXTRACTS 



FROM THE WRITINGS OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS, 



WITH ARGUMENTS AND REMARKS, 



H. L. HASTINGS. 



" Thus saith the Lobd, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old 
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest to 



your souls." 



_ Jeb. vi : 16 



The Library 

OF CONHRKsa 



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PUBLISHED BY H. L. HASTINGS. 

1855. 



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NO. 1. 
SCRIPTURE SEARCHER. 



The Destiny of the Wicked. 

What shall the end be of them that obey- 
not the Gospel ? 

I. They shall not live forever. 1 John iii, 15 ; John 
v, 40; John vi, 53; Matt, xix, 17. 

II. They shall die. Ezek. xviii, 4 ; 20 ; 24 ; 32 ; 
Eom. vi, 21 ; 23 ; Eom. vii, 5 ; James i, 15; James 
v, 20 ; Eev. xx, 14 ; Eev. xxi, 4. 

III. They shall perish. John iii, 15 ; 16 ; 2 Cor. 
ii, 15; 2 Thess. ii, 10; 2 Pet. iii, 9; Ps. xxxvii, 20 ; 
Ps. lxxiii, 27; Ps. xcii, 9; Prov. xix, 9 ; Prov. xxi, 
28 ; Eom. ii, 12; 2 Pet. ii, 12 ; Luke xiii, 3 ; 5 ; Job 
xx, 7. 

IV. They shall be consumed. Ps., Xxxvii, 20 ; Ps., 
lix., 13; Ps., lixi, 13; Pis., lxxiii, 19 ; Ps., civ, 35; Is., 
i, 28 ; Heb., xii, 29. 

V. They shall be devoured by fire. Heb. x, 27; Eev., 
xx, 9. 

VI. They shall be cut off. Ps. xxxvii, 9 ; 22 ; 28 ; 
34; 38; Ps. liv, 5; Ps. xciv, 23 ; Prov. ii, 22. 

VII. They shall be destroyed. Job xxi, 30 ; Job 
xxxi, 3; Ps. v, 6; Ps. lv, 23; Ps. xxxvii, 38; Ps. 
lxxiii, 18; Ps. xcii, 7; Ps. cxliv, 6; Ps. cxlv, 20; 
Prov. 1,27; Prov. xiii, 13; 20; Prov. xvi, 18; Is. 
i, 28 ; Matt, vii, 13 ; Acts iii, 23 ; Eom. iii, 16 ; Eom. 
ix, 22; Phil, iii, 19; 1 Thess. v, 3; 2 Thess. i, 9; 1 
Tim., vi, 9; 2 Pet.ii, 12; 2 Pet. iii, 16; Eev. xi, 18. 

VIII. They shall be burned up root and branch. Ps. 
xcvii, 3; Matt, iii, 12; Luke iii, 17; Is. i, 31 ; Matt, 
xiii, 30; 40; Mai. iv, 1 ; 2 ; 3; Matt, x, 28. 

IX. They shall be as though they had not been. Oba- 
diah 16; Is. xli, 12; Job xviii, 18. 

X. Endless life is only obtained through Christ. 
John xi, 25> John iii, 15; John x, 28; John xvii, 2. 



A NEW AND IMPORTANT WORK! 

THE VOICE OF THE CHURCH on the Coming and Kingdom 
of the Redeemer ; or a History of the Doctrine of the Reign of 
Christ on Earth. By D. T. Taylor. 

The present is an eventful hour in earth's history. All things 
verge towards an awful crisis. Nations are in distress — wise men 
are perplexed — rulers grasp the sword, and sit uneasily on their 
thrones — deep thunders mutter in the distance — and the red blaze 
of battle flashes along the eastern skies. The premonitory shocks 
that herald the earthquake's coming are felt, and war will soon 
roll its volcanic torrent along the earth. The crisis is at hand. 
What shall succeed it 1 Statesmen, sages, poets, philosophers and 
divines are boasting of to-morrow, and cherishing the expectation 
of a world's conversion, and ages of millennial peace. But is this 
taught in the " sure word of prophecy'?" We answer, No! A 
time of predicted peace will come to earth, but the Prince of Peace 
must come to bring the day. But has not the church for many 
centuries expected to convert the world 1 We answer most 
emphatically, AW 

The above work is composed mainly of extracts from all the 
writers of note in the Christian Church for SEVENTEEN HUN- 
DRED YEARS, and shows that during all that period no trace of 
the common theory of the conversion of the world can be found. 

The voice of the Church is against it, and their only hope of 
peace for the people of God was in the renewed world under the 
personal and glorious reign of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

With immense labor the author has collected the testimony of 
the Church from the earliest periods to the present century. The 
statement of their faith is presented in their own w T ords. Among 
the sources are ancient Jewish traditions, the writings of the im- 
mediate successors of the apostles, the early fathers, the later 
writers, the Waldenses, reformers, theologians, and divines. To 
which are added, the traditions of heathen nations and the opin- 
ions of modern Jews, making the most perfect history of the doc- 
trine of the millennium ever published, and one which cannot fail 
to be interesting to every inquirer after truth. 

Published in one volume, 12mo., about 400 pages. Price $1. 00. 

All orders should be addressed to the publisher, 

H. L. HASTINGS, 

PEACE DALE, RHODE ISLAND. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTORY SYNOPSIS. 

Extracts exhibiting the character of the volume. Antiquity. New Heavens 
and Earth. Kingdom of God. The Judgment Day. The Age's Crisis. 
Present Evil Times. It hasteth greatly. Signs of the times. Author's Ex- 
cuse. Loving Christ's Appearing. Author's method. Pre-millennialists 
are missionaries. .... . page 1 

CHAPTER I. 

Definition of Terms. Millennium. Chiliaste. The great question of the age. 
Principles of interpretation. Critics. Taylor. Ernesti. Vitringa. Luther. 
Rosenmuller. Smith. . . . . . . 13 

CHAPTER II. 

Traditionary Testimony. Criticism on Dan. 12: 2. Hebrew Church. 
Rabbins. Targums. Gamaliel. Talmuds. Zohar. Jonathan. KimchL 
Maimonides. First Resurrection. Book of Wisdom. Antiquity. Six 
Thousand Years. Rabbi Elias. Other Jewish Doctors. The Gemarah. 
Heathen nations. Zoroaster. The general belief of all nations. Sibylline 
Oracles. Book of Enoch. Testament of the twelve patriarchs. Fourth 
Book of Ezra. Ascension of Isaiah. Second Book of Esdras. General 
Conflagration. Jews and Heathen. Greeks. Romans. Persians. 
Egyptians. Geologists. Advent and Restitution. Classic writers. 
Mohammedans. Ancient belief. Modern heathen nations. Karens. Az- 
tecs. Jews. Arabs. Hindoos. Jewish view of the kingdom. Chalmers. 
Charnock. Watts.. ...... 19 

CHAPTER III. 

The early church from Hennas to Origen. All Pre-millennialists. Hermas. 
Clement. Barnabas. Ignatius. Polycarp. Papias. Justin Martyr. 
Irenseus. Epistle of the Churches of Viennie and Lyons. Three millions 
of Pre-millennialists. Hin^iytus. Melito. Tertullian. Montanists. The 
Alogi. Clement of Alexandi-a. Cyprian. Methodius. Nepos. Coracian. 
Other witnesses. Character cf the opponents of the doctrine of the Lord's 
reign on earth. • .... 47 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Voice of the church in the eighteenth century. History continued. A new 
millennial view but not a divine one. Fleming. Whitby. Rise of Post-mil- 
lennialism. A new Hypothesis, with comments upon it by Henshaw, 
Woodhouse, Russell, and Duffield. Increase Mather. Whitby's view re- 
jected. The early view maintained. Isaac Newton. Wells. Daubuz. 
Gill. Bengel. Doddridge. John Wesley. Newcome. Bishop Newton. 
Lancaster. Watts. Pirie. Hort. Cotton Mather. Whitefield. Benson. 
C. Wesley. Early Methodism. Hall. Fletcher. Perry. Toplady. Ro- 
maine. Cowper. Coke. Scott. Glas. Spalding. Lowth. Rudd. Hussey. 
Pope. Dow. Lambert. Heber. Prince. Gale. Dr. Clarke's admissions. 
Character of the times. ...... 224 

CHAPTER IX. 

Doom of Antichrist. The grand argument. Principles of interpretation. 
What Paul meant. Barnabas' view. Justin. Irenaeus. Antichrist to 
come. Cyprian. Hippolytus. Origen. Tertullian. Lactantius. Cyril. 
Gregory. Ambrose. Chrysostom. Evagrius. Jerome. Hilarion. Theo- 
doret. Augustine. Cassidorus. Andreas. Antichrist come. Pope Gre- 
gory. Time of the Papal rise. Serenus. Alcuin. Paulinus. Agobard. 
Claude. Arnulph. Gonthier. Tergand. Berenger. Bernard. Arnold. 
Peter De Bruys. Joachim. Peter Olive and others. Waldenses. Walter 
Brute and others. Huss. Jerome. Wickliff. Protestantism and what the 
Pope knows. " Epiphania" and" Parousia." Lexicographers. Fifty testi- 
monies concerning Antichrist's doom. The Advent Pre-millennial. 293 

CHAPTER X. 

Our Warrant. Criticisms on Dan. 12 : 4. The nineteenth century. List of 
Miliennarian authors. The doctrine preached everywhere. The Day 
near. Voice of the church, her creeds. Thirty church creeds. Adventism. 
No church creed inculcates a post-millennial advent. The first resurrection. 
Many churches endorse the doctrine. The Lord at hand. A solemn 
charge. ........ 336 

CHAPTER XI. 

Extracts. The Startling Cry — He Cometh, by Krummacher. Signs of the 
Times, by Charlotte Elizabeth. First Resurrection, by Stuart. Advent 
Experience, by Charlotte Elizabeth. The New Earth, by Chalmers. Tho 
Vindication and Great Incentive, by Bonar. The Blessed Hope, by Andrews. 
The Solemn Warning, from the Journal of Prophecy. Home — The Final 
Farewell, by Dr. Cumming. Author's Adieu. Dying Words — " Tell the 
Church to hold on till Christ comes !" 368 

APPENDIX. 

Comparative Chronological Table, ------- 4QC 



IV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Voice of the Church from Origen to Augustine. Origen. His erronp^ug 
principles of intepretation. His admissions. The first anti-millennarian of 
any note. Victorinus. Lactantius. Dionysius. Relatives of our Lord. 
Commodian. Gregory. Sulpicius. Paulinus. Apollinaris. Other wit- 
nesses. Some begin to reject the Apocalypse. The Nicene Fathers. The 
doctrine still prevalent. Eusebius. Cyril. Epiphanius. Apostacy. 
Ambrose. Chrysostome. Hilary. Jerome — an opposer. His character 
and admissions. Who crushed the truth ? Augustine. A new millennial 
theory. Testimony of Dr. Lardner. Chillingworth. Russell. Bush. 
Moshiem. Burton. Neander Gibbcn. Encyclopedias. Newton. 
Mede. Maitland. Kitto. Milner. Taylor. Whitby. Stuart. Giesler. 
The Septuagint Chronology. .... 76 

CHAPTER V. 

From Augustine to Luther. Truth dying. An onward creeping Apostacy. 
Character of the times. Origenism. The Apocalypse rejected as not being 
canonical. Why ? Chiliasm once orthodoxy — now heresy. Rome's oppo- 
sition. The infant harlot extirpates an apostolic truth ! Still it lives. The 
new view. Papal Divines. Andreas. Anti-millennarianism. Dark Ages. 
Romish Doctors — Joachim Abbas. Anselm. Almeric. Jean Pierre 
d' Olive. Jewish Rabbis of the middle ages. The Paulikians. Thomas 
Aquinas. Waldenses. The Noble Lesson. A line of witnesses. WicklirT. 
Day Breaking ....... 110 

CHAPTER VI. 

Views of the great reformers. Era and century of the reformation. Miscella- 
neous testimony — Tyndale. Bradford. Piscator. Latimer. Ridley. San- 
dys. Chytreeus. Augsburg Confession. Catechism of the time of Edward 
Sixth. Becon. Leo Juda. Bullinger. Knox. Perkins. Calvin. Osian 
der. Flacius. Luther's Expectation of the judgment near — yearnings for 
its coming. Melancthon. Bale. Foxe. Brightman. Pareus. . 136 

CHAPTER VII. 
The seventeenth century. The illustrious Mede. Millennarianism rises to 
eminence. No creed opposed to it. Twisse. Usher. Maton. Adams. 
Goodwin. Reformers view the end approaching. Milton, the Christian Homer. 
Janeway. Baxter. Ambrose. Durant. Alleine. Taylor. Watson. West- 
minster Assembly Divines. Most of them believed in Christ's personal reign. 
Rutherford. Heart yearnings. Farmer. Sterry. Burroughs. Vincent. 
Hall. Anti-millennarian testimony. Bunyan. Baptists of 1660. Bough- 
ton. Hall. Beverly. Tillinghast. Prideaux. Jurieu. Charnock. Henry's 
Golden Thoughts. Burnet. Cressener. Ames. Howe. Mennonites. 
Cocoeius. Davenant. Alstead. Napier. Many voices. Post-millennialism 
had nowhere an existence. . • • • .166 



THE OLD PATHS; 



OR, 



% fringe §utxm of a gnkxt f&, 

EMBRACING COPIOUS EXTRACTS 

FROM THE WRITINGS OF PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS, 

WITH ARGUMENTS AND REMARKS, 






H. L. HASTINGS. 



X 



"Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old 
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest to 
your souls." , 

Jer. vi : 16. 



PEACE DALE, R. I. : 
PUBLISHED BY H. L. HASTINGS 

1855. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 

H. L. HASTINGS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for 
the Southern District of New York. 



Stereotyper and Printer, 
16 Spruce Street, N. Y. 



PREFACE 



Truth though progressive in its developments, is un- 
changeable in its character. Its principles are not affected 
by the lapse of fleeting years. Though its primary exhi- 
bition may be shadowy and obscure ; and though its sub- 
sequent manifestatioDS may be more lucid and explicit, yet 
these are but varied developments of the same great prin- 
ciples. The grand outlines are uniform and identical. 
The varied manifestations of truth, though different, are 
neither contradictory or discordant. 

Again, the light of truth may be for a season in the ob- 
scurity and darkness of mistaken opinions • but when it 
emerges from the battle-field in the beauty of its victorious 
adorning, it is the same unchanging truth. Coming forth 
like the pure waters of some long buried and forgotten 
fountain, relieved of the accumulated rubbish of ages, it 
sends forth to sparkle in the sunlight the same silvery 
waters that gushed and glittered there in days gone by. 

And yet when truths thus forgotten do at length appear, 
there are multitudes standing ready to drive them back to 
darkness, or to load them with obloquy if they will not 



IV PREFACE 



quietly retire. They are novelties. They are neio things 
which of course cannot for a moment be considered. They 
are rejected at once with scarcely a pretence of obedience 
to that word which en joins upon us to "prove all things." 
The stigma of 'novelty' is not, however, as powerful as 
it once was. Thinking men will recollect that when our 
Saviour and his Apostles taught truths as old as the times 
of Moses, they were accused of promulgating novelties. — 
So when Luther disinterred the long- hidden and forgotten 
doctrines of Christ and his Apostles, he was regarded as 
an innovator, and his doctrines were novelties. And why ? 
Because the truth had been forgotten ; and the old pro- 
phetic and apostolic doctrines were new to them, from the 
fact that they had never seen them or believed them. The 
truths of the reformation were older than Luther and older 
than the pope. They were discovered, not created then. 
Others have followed in the track, and as successive search- 
ers for truth have been enabled to extend their comprehen- 
sions of christian doctrine, a voice has seemed to say to 
them continually, and especially as they wearied at the 
toil, " dig deeper and thou shalt find more." Ob, that 
more were willing to venture forth from beneath the over- 
shadowing " traditions of the elders," and learn the gospel 
of Christ from Christ himself, and be guided, eulightened, 
and redeemed by him who is " the Way, the Truth, and 
the Life." 



PREFACE. V 

The truths taught by Luther are not the only ones that 
have been branded as heresies and rejected as novelties* 
Others have shared in the same maledictions, and for no 
better reasons. In fact it is impossible to disturb the 
moral inertia of sectarian bigotry by the promulgation of 
any unpopular truth, without raising the ire and receiving 
the contempt of a multitude whose ignorant conceit enables 
them to determine immediately, that as they are unac- 
quainted with the hated doctrine it is new, and as they 
disbelieve it it cannot be true ! Of course, investigation 
and candid examination might lead to juster conclusions, 
but will they investigate ? Were not their fathers sound 
in the faith ? Has not their own orthodoxy been guaran- 
teed by competent judges ? Why then should they busy 
themselves to trace the pedigree of a despised heresy, which 
were it found to be the doctrine of the apostles and their 
successors, could only prove a source of temporal disad- 
vantage to them and their associates ? 

Especially is this true of the doctrine of Life and Im- 
mortality as revealed or brought to light in the Gospel of 
Christ, and the connected doctrines that present themselves 
to the mind when once this important truth is accepted and 
embraced, as delivered in the word of God. A doctrine so 
unwelcome to those heathen philosophers whose systems it 
ruined ; so distasteful to those of their adherents whose 
wisdom it repudiated as foolishness ; so unprofitable to the 



VI PREFACE, 

Eomish church, the purgatorial fires of which are extin- 
guished by it ; so unpopular among the Protestant multi- 
tudes who have ceased to groan as did the apostles for the 
redemption of their body, while they exult with the heathen 
over the emancipation of their imprisoned souls, such a doc- 
trine can have no claims on any save those who acknow- 
ledge the imperative nature of duty and the paramount 
importance of truth. 

To this class of persons we appeal from the decisions of 
the prejudiced, and from the false accusations of those who 
are wiser in their own conceit than seven men who can ren- 
der a reason. We ask that the question may be examined 
in the pure light of the word of God. We ask that it may 
be investigated by persons possessing the heads of men and 
the hearts of christians. But we would extend the influ* 
ence of the Gospel of Christ still farther, and endeavor by 
manifestation of the truth to commend ourselves to every 
man's conscience in the sight of God. And as most of the 
objections of unbelievers in revelation are made to use the 
words of Locke " against Christianity misunderstood," it 
will perhaps lead them to a more favorable opinion of the 
doctrine of Christ, when they learn that the strength of 
their objections lies against the traditions of men, rather 
than the truths of God. 

It is a principle well understood and fully admitted that 
any doctrine not taught in, or held by the church in the 



PREFACE. Vll 

times immediately succeeding the days of the Apostles, 
could not have been a prominent or important article of 
apostolic faith. The doctrines of the Gospel as promulga- 
ted by the Lord Jesus were delivered to the apostles to be 
disseminated throughout the world. As they passed from 
the stage of action, their companions, their fellowlaborers, 
and their successors, received at their lips the faith which 
they so well had kept, and they have transmitted some por- 
tions of it to succeeding generations. It is to such writers 
as these that we appeal in confirmation of the truths we ad- 
vocate. We do not claim to derive our faith from them, 
we do not yield implicitly to their authority, we trace the 
stream of truth higher up, even to the fountain head. We 
claim that the prophets, the apostles, and the Lord Jesus 
Christ taught most unqualifiedly the doctrine of the mor- 
tality of man, and that his sole and only future and eternal 
existence was conferred through Jesus Christ alone. We 
deduce this doctrine from the word of God, we prove it by 
that in opposition to human traditions, the decrees of papal 
councils, and the creeds of those who adhere to what we 
regard as a vain philosophy. We ask no other evidence to 
prove our doctrine true but the word of God. But when 
the truth is assailed as a novelty, when the declarations of 
God's word are rejected because our forefathers, emerging 
from papal darkness, had not discovered them, then we 
claim the privilege of going back of the present generation. 



Vill PREFACE, 

back of the dark ages, and we are rejoiced to read in the 
records of the purer faith of the primitive church the same 
grand truths that we have learned from the word of God. 
We peruse with satisfaction the writings of these favored 
men, who enjoyed apostolic companionship and instruction, 
and we are glad to learn that the game faith which we de- 
rive from the apostolic writings, they derived from apos* 
tolic teachings. And surely if those men who journied 
with and listened to the Apostles of Jesus, gathered from 
their lips certain doctrines, we may be well assured that we 
have not erred in deducing from the apostolic writings the 
same important and consoling truths. 

The object of the present treatise is to present in a con* 
venient form, the results of certain researches in the de- 
partment of primitive faith. And by sketching the charac- 
ters of these writers as given by impartial and well known 
historians, and also by presenting copious extracts from 
their own writings, we hope to shed light on this interest- 
ing and important subject. Thus would we enquire for 
the old paths ; thus would we seek for the good way, and 
walk therein, that we may find rest to our souls— that rest 
that results from an intelligent and well-grounded faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed to us in the glorious 
Gospel of the blessed God. 

We will commence with the earliest uninspired Christian 
writings extant, and proceeding downward, we shall be able 



PPEFACE. IX 

to view the truth of God in its primitive parity, — then 
spoiled through vain philosophy, then lost in the apostacy 
of the dark ages, and obscured by heathen fables and papal 
traditions, then beaming forth occasionally in the Christian 
church, wherever untramelled thought and free investiga- 
tion were permitted and practised, even down to the pre- 
sent time. In doing this we hope to meet and refute the 
objection of novelty, and show that the doctrines of the 
earliest and most noted Christian writers in the primitive 
ages ; which were held by such men as Luther, and Tyn- 
dale, and Milton, and others of the great and good of later 
times ; are not so modem as to be rejected for their nov- 
elty, nor so unreasonable as to be despised for their absur- 
dity, nor so unscriptural as to be rejected for their lack of 
inspired evidence — at least not till they have been investi- 
gated and scanned in the clear light of the word of inspira- 
tion, and calmly and candidly compared with the Law and 
the Testimony. And we expect also to show that doctrines 
which were not mentioned by the apostolical fathers, nor 
received by their immediate successors, which were esteem- 
ed as heresies in the earliest ages of the church, which were 
only decreed to be truth by a Romish council in the fifteenth 
century, have little in them to command the respect of the 
candid and impartial, even though they may have attained 
great currency among the religionists of the present day, 
whose faith is taught more by the catechism, the creed, and 



PREFACE 



the volumes on divinity written by men, than by the plain 
simple words of God. And we may also see how slight are 
the grounds upon which the exclusive arrogance of some 
modern Protestants is based, and how vain are their endea- 
vors in these days of free enquiry to make revilings fill the 
place of reason, and heathen philosophy supersede the pure 
doctrines of Life and Immortality as brought to light in 
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

These are the objects of the present writing, and the 
work thus commenced and carried down through the period 
of the Apostolic Fathers is submitted to the candor of the 
reader. May the Spirit of him who is The Truth rest 
upon reader and writer ; and may we all be led to seek for 
glory and honor and immortality by patient continuance 
in well doing. Sure we are that it shall be well with the 
righteous, and it shall be ill with the wicked. Sure we are 
that God's favor is life, and should the views herein de- 
duced from the writings of some of the earliest teachers of 
Christianity, fail to receive the reader's approbation, he 
has of course the liberty of the Gospel to receive or reject 
them as conscience and judgment may decide. 

That the Spirit of the Lord may guide both reader and 
writer in the paths of truth and duty, is the sincere 
prayer of 

THE AUTHOR. 

Peace Dale ) R. /., June, 1855. 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE FUTURE LIFE REVEALED IN THE GOSPEL DIVERSE 

OPINIONS THE TEACHING OF PAUL APPEAL TO APOS- 
TOLIC FATHERS FOR CONFIRMATORY TESTIMONY. 

No doctrine is more explicitly revealed in the Gospel 
of Christ than the doctrine of a Future Life. And no doc- 
trine is more variously taught in the theology of men, than 
this. That which the Scriptures declare to have been 
brought to light in the gospel, has been by its professed 
teachers so variously understood or misunderstood, and so 
differently inculcated by various classes, that the candid 
person who would learn the Christian doctrine of a future 
life, is driven to forsake the prejudices of early education, 
and the contradictory statements of the wise and great, 
and flee to the plain teaching of the inspired word. 

To enumerate all the varieties of opinion existing upon 
this subject among those who profess Christianity, would be 
alike tedious and unprofitable. A few leading opinions may 
be presented, which form the foundation of all those combina- 
tions which the plastic ingenuity of mortal fancy has pro- 
duced, or which the potent influence of human superstition 
has evoked from the abysmal regions of ignorance and ob- 
scurity. 



I 4 INTRODUCTION. 

There is, First, The doctrine that all future life depends 
upon Jesus Christ and is bestowed by God through him. 
That natural death is an interruption or temporary cessa- 
tion of all conscious existence. That in the resurrection 
at the last day, the whole human family will arise to judg- 
ment. That the righteous will then put on immortality, 
and receive the gift of God, Eternal Life, while the wicked, 
destitute of the life that is in Christ, will die the second 
death — be punished with everlasting destruction, and ut- 
terly perish in their own corruption. 

There is a Second system that agrees with the above in 
denying the natural immortality of man, but which regards 
the future life obtained through Christ, as actually com- 
menced in the soul, or communicated by faith in him ; so 
that while death is to the icicked a suspension of conscious- 
ness, the souls of the righteous continue to exist separately 
and consciously, until the judgment, when, reunited with 
their resurrected bodies, they receive everlasting life, while 
the wicked, not having obtained this immortality, are de- 
stroyed and that to eternity. 

There is a Third opinion that all human beings possess 
immortal souls by nature. That their bodies are but pri- 
sons and clogs. That at death the body returns forever 
to the dust, and the spirit forever emancipated from its 
corporeal thraldom pursues in the spirit-land a course of 
eternal progression, enjoying the incomprehensible privi- 
leges of an immaterial existence. 

There is a Fourth view of the subject which only varies 
from the last mentioned, in this : that it supposes the 
agency of Christ manifested in securing the future blessed- 
ness of the redeemed spirit in heaven, and regards 
him as finally accomplishing by such means as his own 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

wisdom may suggest, the eternal redemption and salvation 
of them all. 

There is a Fifth opinion that all souls are immortal, 
that at death they are separated from the body, and the 
righteous ascend to enjoy the felicities of God's presence, 
while the wicked are adjudged to the torments of hell. 
That at the last day, these souls are recalled from heaven 
and hell, — united with their bodies, which are raised and 
made immortal, and then the righteous return to eternal 
glory in heaven, and the wicked to eternal torment in hell. 

There is a Sixth hypothesis which only varies from the 
last mentioned view in denying the absolute eternity of 
these torments, and supposing instead that the torments 
of the wicked, though greatly protracted, will finally 
eventuate in the reformation, and consequent restoration 
of all the offenders to happiness and divine favor. 

There is a Seventh view of the subject which inculcates 
the natural immortality of the soul, and the eternity of the 
rewards of the righteous, and the torments of the wicked, 
in their resurrected state of corporeal immortality, but 
which rejects the doctrine of the existence of souls in 
heaven or hell between death and the resurrection, and 
locates them in an imperfect condition of happiness or 
misery amid the obscurity of Hades or the under-world. 

There is an Eighth opinion that the souls of the pious 
who are purified ascend immediately to the presence of 
God, while others, who are so sinful as to be beyond the 
hope of pardon, are driven immediately to hell. That a 
middle and very numerous class of imperfect saints, and 
less heinous sinners are deposited in purgatory, where in 
the lapse of ages their moral characters become purged 
from every stain by the sanctifying influence of fire and 



J 6 INTRODUCTION. 

brimstone. That the process of purification is materially 
facilitated by the repetition of certain latin prayers, which 
those qualified are always ready to offer when paid for so 
doing. That after the judgment, the saints shall enjoy 
eternal blessedness in a bodily condition, and the wicked 
shall endure eternal torments. 

There are numerous and various modifications of these 
several theories in consequence of various opinions upon 
other connected questions. To classify them all were un- 
necessary. The foregoing comprehend most that are held 
by those who lay claim to the title of Christians, and all 
of them, I presume, have the sanction of men of considera- 
ble eminence in the Christian church. 

Now, these numerous opinions, so various and contra- 
dictory, cannot all be drawn from one plain common- 
sense, self-consistent Bible. Some of them must be spu- 
rious. Which is true ? In a former treatise, the writer 
endeavored by an examination of all the epistles of the 
leading writer in the New Testament, to ascertain what 
was the Christian doctrine of future punishment. It was 
claimed that in the fourteen epistles of the apostle Paul, 
who had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God, 
we might look with confidence for a full statement of the 
doctrines under consideration. An examination of his 
fourteen epistles with reference to the question of human 
immortality disclosed the following facts : 

" First, The Apostle Paul is the only writer in the whole 
Bible who makes use of the word immortal or immor- 
tality. 

" Second, He never applies it to sinners. 

" Third, He never applies it to either righteous or wicked 
in this world. 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

" Fourth, He never applies it to men's souls at all, either 
before or after death. 

" Fifth, He speaks of it as an attribute of the King Eter- 
nal.— 1 Tim. i: 17. 

" Sixth, He declares that He is the only possessor of 
it.— 1 Tim. vi: 16. 

u Seventh, He speaks of it as revealed or brought to light 
(not in heathen philosophy, but) in the Gospel of the Son 
of God.— 2 Tim. i: 10. 

" Eighth, He presents it as an object which men are to 
seek for by patient continuance in well doing. — Rom.ii : 7. 

{t Ninth, He defines the period when it shall be ' put on' 
by the Saints of God, and fixes it at the resurrection, when 
Christ, who is our Life, shall appear. — 1 Cor. xv: 52,54. 

" Tenth, Therefore, he never taught the immortality of 
the soul, as it is now taught." * 

Further examination disclosed other facts in relation to 
the future state. These were summed up briefly as follows : 

11 First : Paul in his epistle speaks of, or alludes to, the 
destiny of the wicked at least tiventy-five times. Certainly 
then he did not forget this subject. We could have asked 
no more of him than this. Twenty -five distinct statements 
with regard to the destiny of the impenitent, are certainly 
sufficient to give us a correct idea of the subject. 

" Secoyid : He does not in one place declare that any who 
remain impenitent through this life shall be eternally saved. 
True, he declared God to be the Saviour of all men, but it 
is evidently only from the consequences of Adam's sin, for 
as in Adam, all die — literally, so in Christ shall all be 
made alive, literally and bodily. For there shall be a 

* Pauline Theology, p. 34. 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

resurrection of the dead — both of the just and the unjust. 
This then is only a salvation from natural death, while he 
is specially the Saviour of them that believe ; for " being 
made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation 

UntO ALL THEM THAT OBEY HIM." Heb. V I 9. 

" If the modern doctrine of Universal Salvation, had 
been true, Paul would have preached it. He did not preach 
it ; therefore it is not true. 

" Third : He does not once speak of the restoration of 
men to God, after their having endured the torments of 
hell for a longer or shorter period. Not one word does he 
say of the final holiness and happiness of all mankind ; 
not one word about purgatorial flames, or a limited punish- 
ment. 

" If Restorationism had been true, Paul would have 
taught it : He did not teach it; therefore it is not true. 

" Fourth : He does not in one place speak of men as 
1 dying and going to hell ;' or of their being consigned to 
a place of torment, previous to the day of judgment. 
1 After death, the judgment.' Not ' after death, hell-fire 
for thousands of years ; and then the judgment, and then 
torment again to all eternity.' Can it be true that Paul be- 
lieved as some men preach ; that sinners were dying in this 
world, and dropping into hell at the rate of about thirty- 
six hundred every hour, and yet he never gave one hint of 
the fact, in all his writings ? 

" If the doctrine of going to a hell of fire at death had 
been true, Paul would have taught it. He did not teach 
it ; therefore it is not true. 

" Fifth: He does not once speak of there being. a hell of 
fire, in existence at the present time. If there was in ex- 
istence then, a vast portion of the universe, filled with fire 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

and brimstone, where men and devils were tormented, and 
suffered, and howled, and blasphemed, and calculated the 
slow rolling ages of eternity— where Cain was condemned 
to suffer six thousand years before others equally guilty 
commenced to suffer at all — where Satan was condemned 
to be tormented ' before his time,' instead of going about 
like a roaring lion— would not Paul have preached to us 
about it ? 

" If there had been in existence a place of unutterable 
torment, where sinners were, Paul w T ould have warned us 
of it. He did not mention it ; therefore it does not exist 
at present. 

u Sixth : He does not mention or make use of the word 
torment at all in the whole of his epistles. The idea of 
devils mocking, and tormenting their victims in the pit of 
woe, does not appear once in all his writings. 

" Suffering and anguish are implied in the fire which 
shall devour the ungodly, but torment as a distinct idea, as 
it is taught by modern religious teachers from Sabbath to 
Sabbath, does not appear in his epistles. 

11 If the idea that God would torment and torture wicked 
men in hell to all eternity had been true ; Paul must have 
known it, and would have preached it. He did not preach 
it ; therefore it is not true. 

11 Seventh : In the whole twenty five places where he 
speaks of the punishment of the ungodly, he only uses the 
•word atuvwv : aionion (eternal or everlasting) once, 2 
Thes. i : 9. This word occurs in the Apostle's writings 
twenty-eight times ; and how strange, if the doctrine of 
eternal torment be true, that in speaking of the destiny of 
the wicked at least twenty -five times, he only uses the 
word everlasting once ; and then, it is ( everlasting de- 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

struction.' How much do some men say of eternity and 
eternal torment — and yet Paul omits such expressions 
altogether. We can easily understand why they use such 
expressions — they believe that doctrine. But why does 
Paul omit them ? is it not because he did not believe it ? 
He called the destruction eternal, as he does the Judg- 
ment in Heb. 6: 2, not that either the one or the other 
would be eternally going on, and never consummated; for 
that would require tivo eternities: the first one for the 
judgment, and the second for the destruction; but because 
that Judgment is final, admitting of no appeal ; and be- 
cause that destruction is final, admitting of neither rescue 
or recovery, so they may both be denominated eternal. 

"If the eternity of the punishment had been the main 
and important feature in the matter, as it must ever be 
while the popular doctrine of eternal torment is taught, 
certainly Paul would have spoken of eternal torment. He 
did not mention it; therefore it is not true. 

" Eighth : Not one passage in his writings teaches or 
hints that wicked men shall live or exist for ever under 
any circumstances whatever. This idea that all men are 
to exist eternally, is not to be assumed, or taken for 
granted. The question is too important to be disposed of 
by a guess or opinion. It involves the destiny of the 
greater portion of our race. Can it be true that Paul be- 
lieved that every wicked man carried within him an im- 
mortal element, which must go on expanding throughout 
the far-reaching ages of eternity, and linking man by a tie 
that can never be severed to endless joy or endless agony, 
and yet in all his epistles he gives us no hint of the fact ? 
Does this look like the doings of one who kept bach nothing 
that was profitable for his hearers ? Does this sound like 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

the teaching of modern preachers, who assure their hearers 
" that they have each of them an immortal soul, destined 
to exist so long as God exists ?" 

If every wicked man had been destined to eternal exist- 
ence, Paul would have informed us of the fact. He doe3 
not once hint it ; therefore it cannot be true. 

" Ninth : Paul could say of his preaching that he had not 
shunned to declare the ivhole counsel of God. His writings 
partake of the same fearless character which was impressed 
on his preaching, and, in fact, upon everything he did. 
He shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God. Bnt 
he did shun to declare the first ivord concerning eternal 
torment ; therefore, eternal torment i3 no part of the 
1 counsel of God.' " 

" Tenth : Paul said, concerning his teaching, that he had 
' kept back nothing that was profitable ' for his brethren. 
But we find that he has entirely kept back the doctrine of 
the eternal torture of ungodly men. Now, if Paul believed 
this, he must have been strangely negligent, or else he 
must have believed it to be an unprofitable subject. If it 
is not true, of course it would not be profitable. The con- 
clusion is, that it is not true, and in that case it should not 
be taught, or else, if it is true, it is unprofitable, and there- 
fore, should be kept back. 

" Eleventh : Every passage that relates to the destiny 
of the impenitent, imports their utter dissolution or exter- 
mination. An examination of the passages will put this 
assertion to the proof. Let others do it as I have done it, 
and they will find an argument for the final destruction of 
the ungodly, which honesty cannot evade. Eight times 
he speaks of the wicked as destined to perish. Death is 
used to express their destiny seven times. Nine times 



22 INTRODUCTION* 

they are spoken of as being destroyed, once as Devoured 
by fire, and once as burned. Not one of these words has 
in the original or the translation, the meaning of eternal 
torment, Not one of them means any such thing in com- 
mon conversation, and it is only by a < theological 5 or false 
definition, alike repugnant to the laws of language and 
common sense, that such an idea can be conveyed by such 
language. Paul does not tell us that he used these words 
in a peculiar or theological sense. No Greek would have 
supposed so, had they heard him ; and we are led to con- 
clude, that as Paul would not use words calculated to mis- 
lead, therefore we are to take these words in their most 
obvious and current signification. 

Paul did teach the utter destruction or perishing or 
death or extermination of ungodly men. He would not 
have taught it unless it were true; therefore itis the truth. 
1 Twelfth: No stronger expressions can be found in 
Greek or English, to denote the utter extirpation of the 
ungodly. If these words can be evaded or explained away, 
then, if the doctrine be ever so true, it would be impossible 
to teach it. If these words do not convey the idea ) then 
no words can be made to do it. 

" Thirteenth : If we had none but such as Paul to teach 
us, we should never have learned any other doctrine. If 
we had drawn our theology solely from his epistles, we 
should never have heard of an immortal soul, or an im- 
mortal sinner, of eternal torments, or of going to the lake 
of fire at death, of a heaven « beyond the bounds of time 
and space,' where the righteous should dwell eternally, or 
of a hell in some distant portion of the universe, where art 
unceasing torrent of wailing and blasphemy should roll 
forth from the burning lips of the innumerable damned, so 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

long as God exists ! Whence came this fearful doctrine ? 
From the Apostle Paul ? nay, rather ' from your vain con- 
versation, received by tradition from your fathers.' "* 

Having deduced these statements from the writings of 
this great apostle, a question arises, have we understood 
him rightly ? True, we take his words in their current sig- 
nification in the times in which he lived, but were they 
understood thus by those to whom he spoke ? We aver 
that they were, and in proof we refer to those writers who 
lived in apostolic times. We inquire what they taught. 
If we find them all with one voice proclaiming the immor- 
tality of the soul, the consciousness of the dead — their 
dwelling in heaven and hell between death and the judg- 
ment, and the eternal torment of the sinner in hell, we 
shall then be led to conclude that we have misunderstood 
the king's English, and the apostle's Greek, and shall 
yield to the force of the evidence. But if we find that the 
immortality of the soul and the eternal torment of the 
wicked was never mentioned until heathen philosophers be- 
came connected with the church, and was never believed 
until heathen philosophy had polluted the pure temple of 
truth — Then we shall conclude that we read and understood 
Paul correctly, and that if we would walk in the old paths 
we must reject the teachings of a vain and false philosophy 
with the adhering traditions of subsequent superstition, and 
return to the pure doctrines of life and immortality through 
Christ alone as brought to light by Jesus, and promulgated 
by his apostles. 

* Pauline Theology, pp. 38-44. 



%\t Irimitik gottrine of a jfuture Jift 



PAET I. 

THE APOSTOLICAL FATHERS. 
CHAPTER I. 

CHARACTER AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE APOSTOLICAL 
FATHERS VALUE OF THEIR WRITINGS. 

" And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, 
the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others 
also:'— 2 Tim. ii. 2. 

When the apostles, wearied with the toils of their minis- 
try, after a long and tedious warfare, laid aside their har- 
ness, and ungirding themselves lay down to rest in the 
calm assurance of Christian faith and hope, there were 
others raised up by God for the furtherance of the cause 
of truth, who caught the words of inspiration from their 
lips, and who unfolded to succeeding generations the same 
sublime and glorious doctrines of the Gospel, which had 
previously been declared by the apostles of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, in the ears of a ruined and perishing race. These 
were men of deep and ardent piety, of unshrinking faith, 



APOSTOLICAL FATHERS. 25 

and of undoubted constancy. They had possessed the great- 
est facilities for obtaining in its purity the Gospel of Christ. 
They had " fully known " the " doctrine " as well as the 
" manner of life " of the apostles ; they had been their 
companions in Christian labor ; had traveled with them, 
and listened to them, had battled with them the prevailing 
systems of false and delusive philosophy ; and had with 
them determined fully, to glory only in the cross of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, which was to the Jews, fast bound by 
traditions, a stumbling-block ; and to the Greeks, inflated 
with false wisdom, foolishness; but which was the wisdom 
of God and the power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believed. 

Some of these men not only preached but wrote, and 
their writings were handed down in the Christian church. 
Though not esteemed canonical or authoritative, yet they 
were regarded as profitable, and hence were sometimes read 
in the Christian assemblies for the instruction of the hear- 
ers. These writings have, some of them, been transmitted 
to us, and are commonly termed the writings of the u Apos- 
tolical Fathers ," which term comprehends those writers 
who flourished between a. d. 71 and a. d. 140, who imme- 
diately succeeded the apostles, and who wrote previously 
to the time of Justin Martyr. Their names were, Barna- 
bas, Clement, Hermas, Ignatius, and Polycarp. 

" These five writers," remarks the learned Dr. Adam 
Clarke, " constitute the whole of what are called the 
' Apostolical Fathers, whose writings for their deep 
' piety, simplicity, and divine unction, form a proper con- 
1 necting link between those of the Evangelists and Apos- 
1 ties; and those of the Primitive Fathers." 

" As all classes of Protestants have agreed to annex those 



26 THE OLD PATHS. 

1 writings ealled Apocryphal to the Old Testament, is it 
c not strange that the Apostolical Fathers should not be 
1 annexed to the New ? They are certainly far more au- 
' thentic, and of much more intrinsic worth."* 

To an examination of their writings, and a sketch of 
their characters, in the order of their succession, we devote 
the ensuing pages. 

We appeal to them for confirmatory evidence that we 
teach Apostolic doctrine. What say they ? Christians 
delight to honor them for their steadfastness in that faith 
which caused them " to believe, to love and to suffer," but 
how many are aware that the faith held by these ancient 
martyrs would almost be regarded as heresy now, while 
the present faith of the professed church would, in some 
of its important features, have been condemned as vain 
philosophy then ? How often these writings have been 
perused by the careless reader, and yet the fact that they 
have no terms to express the present popular doctrines of 
a future Life has been almost entirely overlooked. Shall 
we not confer a favor upon the candid by directing their 
attention to the facts in the case ? 

* Clarke's Succession of Sacred Literature, p. 92. 



CHAPTER II. 
BARNABAS, A. T>. 71. 

u He was a good man anal full of the Holy Ghost and of faith" — 

Acts xi. 24. 

This name is familiar to the readers of the New Testa- 
ment. Descended from the tribe of Levi, and a native of 
the island of Cyprus, he originally bore the name of Joses. 
Having sold his property soon after the day of Pentecost, 
he came and laid the money at the apostles' feet. From 
them, probably, in consequence of the consoling character 
of his ministrations, he received the surname Barnabas, or 
" Son of Consolation." By the church at Jerusalem he 
was sent to Antioch to carry forward the work of God, 
commenced under the labors of some who had fled from 
persecution at Jerusalem. After laboring there success- 
fully for a season, he visited Tarsus, whence he returned to 
Antioch with Paul, who assisted him there in the ministry. 
Subsequently they were deputed as messengers to the 
church at Jerusalem to carry them alms in a time of 
dearth ; and after their return, they went forth in obe- 
dience to the Holy Spirit's direction, to preach in various 
cities. They returned to Jerusalem again to make en- 
quiries concerning the validity of the Jewish law, and com- 
ing back to Antioch, prepared for another mission. Here 
a misunderstanding arose about one of their companions in 
labor, which produced a separation. It is probable that 



US THE OLD PATHS, 

they were subsequently reconciled, as Paul afterwards 
makes honorable mention of Mark, the person about whom 
the dispute originally occurred. The future career of 
Barnabas is unwritten, save in the blessed " book of re- 
membrance," where so many noble deeds forgotten on 
earth are chronicled in heaven. 

Of his character, we learn that " he was a good man 
and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith " — that he with 
Paul was " beloved " by the church at Jerusalem, that 
they had " hazarded their lives " for the gospel's sake — that 
like Paul, he is called by the inspired writers an " apostle," 
Acts xiv. 14 — that, like Paul, he did not " forbear work- 
ing " with his hands— that his ministrations were abun- 
dantly successful, and that through them " much people 
were added to the Lord." These are the facts stated of 
him in the Acts of the Apostles, and in the Epistles of 
Paul, from which we have compiled this brief sketch.*' 

Leaving the New Testament, we find his name and writ- 
ings mentioned by the early Christian fathers. Clement 
of Alexandria has often quoted him, and denominates him 
" the Apostle Barnabas. . . , the apostolical Barnabas, one 
8 of the seventy, and fellow-worker with Paul,"f whence it 
appears he was one of the seventy disciples sent forth to 
labor by Christ himself. Origen, in his answer to Celsus ? 
quotes his Epistle styling it " The Catholic Epistle of 
Barnabas,"J and Eusebius mentions it as having been 
quoted and commented upon by Clement, and as being 
reckoned among the disputed or uncanonical writings of 

* See Acts iv. 36; xi. 22-30; xii. 25 ; xiii. 1. 2, 50; xiv. 12, 
14 ; xv. 2, 12, 37. 1 Cor. ix. 6. Gal. ii. I, 9, 13. Gal. iv. 10. 
Col. iv. 10. 2 Tim. iv. 11. 

t Stromatalib, 2. % Lib. h 



BARNABAS. £9 

the early Christian church.* Jerome, in his Catalogue of 
Illustrious Men, says : " Barnabas, of Cyprus, called 
* Joseph, a Levite, ordained an apostle of the Gentiles 
1 with Paul, wrote an Epistle for the edification of the 
1 church, which is read among the Apocryphal Scriptures."! 

These testimonies inform as of the value which was 
attached to the Epistle of Barnabas by the early church ; 
" the passages cited by them being still found, 5 ' says Dr. 
Lardner, " in that Epistle which we now have under the 

1 name of Barnabas Pearson, Cave, DuPin, Wake, 

1 and many other learned men, suppose it to be a genuine 
1 Epistle of Barnabas, the companion of Paul. 5 ' J It is 
supposed to have been written before the Epistle of Jude, 
and also previous to the writings of John. Some learned 
authors, as Bp. Fell and others, have regarded it as of 
equal authority with the New Testament writings ; most 
writers deny this, a few regard it as the production of 
another than Barnabas, but all agree in assigning to it the 
highest antiquity. 

Now, in this epistle, written in all probability by the 
companion of Paul, written while John the revelator was 
yet living, written by one who is called in the Scriptures 
an apostle, written by one who was full of the Holy Ghost, 
read in the various churches planted by the Apostles, re- 
ceived by them as of great value : in such an epistle we 
may hope to find Apostolic doctrine. If the doctrine of 
the immortality of some hidden part of man be the doc- 
trine of Christ, we shall find it here. If the doctrine of 
the consciousness of souls in the state of death, and of 

* Ecclesiastical History B. vi., ch. 13, 14. 
t Cap. 6. % Credibility of the Gospel History, vol. ii. pp. 18,19. 



30 THE OLD PATHS. 

their reward or punishment in heaven, hell or purgatory be 
true, we shall find it here. If the doctrine of the eternal 
torture and agony of wicked men be the doctrine of the 
apostles, certainly this writer will warn his hearers of the 
fact. 

But what are the facts? He does not in all his writings 
so much as hint that man has a soul which is immortal by 
nature. He does not once intimate that men go to hell or 
to heaven, or any where else but to the grave at death. He 
expressly postpones their reward and their punishment till 
the day of Judgment; he does not once intimate that the 
wicked are to be tormented or tortured eternally in hell ; 
on the contrary he teaches that they shall be destroyed and 
that their doom is eternal death. He gives no hint that 
he used the terms life, death, &c, in the conventional 
sense in which they are now used, and hence we must con- 
clude that he meant just what he said. Let us glance at 
his epistle as translated by Archbishop Wake, aud divided 
in chapters and verses as in the Apocryphal New Testa- 
ment. 

THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS, A. D. 71. 

In the first chapter he says, " There are therefore three 
£ things ordained by the Lord ; the hope of life ; the be- 
'ginning and the completion of it." 

In the fourth chapter he says, "A man will justly 
1 perish, if having the knowledge of the way of truth, he 
1 shall nevertheless not refrain himself from the way of 
c darkness, and for this cause the Lord was content to 
' suffer for our souls, although he be the Lord of the whole 
< earth. . . . But he, that he might abolish death, and 
make known the resurrection from the dead, was content, 



BARNABAS. 31 

i as it was necessary, to appear in the flesh, that he might 
1 make good the promise before given to our fathers, and 
4 preparing himself a new people, might demonstrate to 
1 them whilst he was upon earth, that after ike resurre > 
4 tion he would judge the world." 

In the sixth chapter he remarks, " If therefore the Son 
1 of God, who is the Lord of all, and shall come to judge 
1 both the quick and the dead, hath suffered, that by his 
1 stripes we might live; let us believe that the Son of God 
( could not have suffered but for us." 

In the seventh chapter he declares that " The kingdom 
' of Jesus was founded upon the cross ; and therefore they 
1 that put their trust in him shall live forever." 

Id the eleventh chapter he says, " Moses makes a type 
1 of Jesus, to show that he was to die ; and then that he, 
1 whom they thought to be dead, was to give life to others, 
4 in the type of those that fell in Israel." After giving an 
account of the making of the brazen serpent, he says, 
" Then Moses spake unto them, saying, When any one 
1 among you shall be bitten, let him come unto the serpent 
1 that is set upon the pole; and let him assuredly trust in 
1 him, that, though he be dead, yet he is able to give life, 
1 and presently he shall be saved ; and so they did. See, 
i therefore, how here also you have in this the glory of 
1 Jesus; and that in him and to him are all things " 

In the thirteenth chapter, he says again, while speaking 
of the Church of God being his temple and the habitation 
of his spirit, il The word of his faith, the calling of his 
' promise, the wisdom of his righteous judgments, the com- 
1 mands of his doctrine ; he himself prophecies within us, 
1 he himself dwelleth in us, and openeth to us who were in 
' bondage of death, the gate of our temple — that is, the 



32 THE OLD PATHS. 

4 mouth of wisdom, — having given repentance unto us; and 
4 by this means has brought us to be an incorruptible tern- 
pie?'' 

In the fourteenth chapter he continues, 4 ' There are two 
4 ways of doctrine and power — the one of light, the other 
of darkness. But there is a great deal of difference be- 
tween these two ways; for over one are appointed the 
4 angels of God, the leaders of the way of light ; over the 
1 other the angels of Satan : and the one is the Lord from 
4 everlasting to everlasting ; the other is the prince of the 
4 time of unrighteousness. Now the way of light is this, 
4 if any one desires to attain to the place that is appointed 
c for him, and will hasten thither by his works. And the 
4 knowledge that has been given to us for walking in it is 
4 to this effect : Thou shalt love him that made thee; thou 
4 shalt glorify him that redeemed thee from death. Thou 
1 shalt be simple in heart and rich in the spirit. Thou 
* shalt not cleave to those that walk in the ivay of death. 
4 . . . . Thou shalt not be double-tongued, for a double 

1 tongue is the snare of death Thou shalt not be for- 

1 ward to speak, for the mouth is the snare of death. Strive 
l for thy soul (~ovyji or life) with all thy might. . . . Call 
1 to thy remembrance day and night the future judgment. 
1 Thou shalt seek out every day the persons of the righteous, 
4 and both consider and go about to exhort others by the 
1 Word, and meditate how thou shalt save a soul." Con- 
tinuing thus to inculcate the duties of Christianity, alms- 
giving, peace-making and repentance, he remarks, " This 
4 is the way of light." 

In the fifteenth chapter he continues, " But the way of 
4 darkness is crooked and full of cursing; for it is the way 
4 of eternal death, with punishment ; in which they that 



BARNABAS. 33 

c walk meet those things that destroy their oicn souls, 
1 Such are idolatry, confidence, pride of power, hypocrisy, 

1 &c It is therefore fitting that, learning the just 

1 commands of the Lord, which we have before mentioned, 
1 we should walk in them. For he who does such things 
1 shall he glorified in the kingdom of God, But he that 
1 chooses the other part shall be destroyed, together with 
1 his works. For this cause there shall be both a resurrec- 

1 tion and a retribution For the day is at hand in 

1 which all things shall be destroyed, together with the 
1 wicked one. The Lord is near, and his reward is with 

* him Be ye taught of God, seeking what it is the 

1 Lord requires of you, and doing it, that ye may be saved 
1 in the day of judgment." 

Here, then, we have the testimony of Barnabas, what 
he says, and all that he says concerning the future destiny 
of man. We need not enter into an extensive review of 
it. The words are before the reader. But we cannot 
avoid remarking the difference between the preaching and 
writing of Barnabas, and the teaching of modern professed 
preachers of the Gospel. And his sentiments as delivered 
in his epistle coincide perfectly with fragments of one of 
his warnings, which inspiration has preserved. When 
preaching the Gospel at Antioeh, after the Jews had re- 
jected their message, " Then Paul and Barnabas waxed 
1 bold ) and said it was necessary that the word of God 
L should first have been spoken to you ; but seeing ye put it 
l from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlast- 
1 ing life, hj we turn to the Gentiles." — Acts xiii. 46. 

This was the character of apostolic preaching. Life 
and Death were set before the people. There was no 
blending of vain philosophy therewith, no phantom land or 



34 THE OLD PATHS. 

spirit w>orld beyond the bounds of space, no dropping oi 
the souls of the dying into hell torments, no rising of the 
blest spirits on angel pinions, while the clay sank in the 
embrace of death, no punishment before judgment, no 
reward till Jesus 7 appearing, no home but in the renewed 
and glorious world to come. These are the old paths. 
This was the faith of the prophets and the apostles. We 
trace their faith first in their words, as written in the book 
of God, and then in the faith of their fellow laborers, the 
Apostolical Fathers. Can we be blamed for receiving such 
a faith as this ? — a faith which was the comfort of all the 
sons of consolation in that dark and trying hour — a faith 
which then, as now, brought reproach to man but glory to 
Christ, — which awakens the displeasure of those who are 
bound by the traditions of the elders, but which comes to 
the believing Christian's heart as an unspeakable source of 
comfort, a blessed light, bringing life and immortality to 
view, as offered in the Gospel, to all who seek ftr* k Ly 
patient continuance in well doing. 



CHAPTER III. 
CLEMENT, A. D. 96. 

" Clement also, and other my fellow laborers, vjhose names are in 
the Book of JAfi."— Phil. iv. 3 

Next after Barnabas in the succession of Christian wri- 
ters we find Clement. He was Bishop of Rome ; " whom," 
says Dr. Lardner, "ancient writers, without any doubt or 
' scruple, relate to have been the same Clement, whom St. 
' Paul mentions among his l 'fellow laborers, whose names 
1 are in the book of Life.'' Philip iv. 3. r * Dr. A. Clarke 
also declares that : " He was generally believed by the 
{ ancients to have been the same with that Clement whom 
' St. Paul mentions among his fellow laborers whose names 
1 are in the book of Life. Phil. iv. 3."f 

Irenseus says, " When the blessed Apostles had founded 
{ and established the church, (at Borne) they T delivered the 
1 office of the bishoprick in it to Linus. Of this Linus 
' Paul makes mention in his epistles to Timothy, (2 Tim. 
'iv. 21). To him succeeded Anencletus. After whom in 
1 the third place after the Apostles, Clement obtained that 
1 bishoprick, who had seen the blessed apostles, and conversed 
1 with them: who had the preaching of the apostles still 
1 sounding in his ears, and their traditions before his eyes. 
\ Nor was he alone, for there were then still many alive, 

* Credibility, vol. ii. p. 29. f Sac. Lit. p. 89. 



35 THE OLD PATHS. 

< who had been taught by the apostles. In the time there- 
' fore of this Clement, when there was no small dissention 
' among the brethren at Corinth, the church at Rome sent 

< a most excellent letter to the Corinthians, persuading them 
' to peace among themselves."* 

Thus Irenams represents Clement as the third bishop 
who succeeded the apostles at Rome. Eusebius bears 
witness to the same fact when after giving the names of 
his predecessors he states that « after Anencletus had been 
' Bishop of Rome twelve years he was succeeded by Cle- 

< -merit who, the apostle, in his epistle to the Philippians, 

< shows to have been his fellow laborer. Of this Clement 
•there is one epistle extant, acknowledged as genuine, of 

< considerable length and of great merit, which he wrote in 
' the name of the church of Rome, to that at Corinth, at 

< the time when there was a dissention in the latter. This 

< we know to have been publicly read for common benefit, 
' in most of the churches, both in former times and in our 

< own • and that at the time mentioned a sedition did take 
.place at Corinth, is abundantly attested by Hegesippus."t 
Eusebius also declares that at the beginning of Trajan's 
reign « Clement still governed the church of Rome, % and 
he is' said to have died in the third year of Trajan, A.. 

D *Eusebius speaks again of "The epistle of Clement ac- 

< knowledged by all, which he wrote to the Corinthians in 
'the name of the church of Rome. . . . It ought to 
« be observed that there is another epistle said to be Cle- 
ment's; but this is not so generally received as the 
* Adv. Hfer. lib. ill. c. 3. Quoted by Eusebius Eccl. Hist. B. v c 6. 
t Euseb. Eccl. Hist. B. iii. ch. 15, 16. * Ihid, ch. 21. 

% Lardner's Credibility, vol. it. P- 32. 



37 CLEMENT. 

1 former ; nor do we know the ancients to have quoted it. 
' There are also other writings reported to be his, verbose, 
1 and of great length ... of which, however, not a 
c syllable is recorded by the primitive church. For they 
1 do not preserve the impress of pure orthodoxy. The 
1 epistle therefore of Clement, that is acknowledged as 
( genuine is evident."* Eusebius quotes from an epistle 
written by Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, to Soter, bishop 
of Rome, about A. D. 170, thus : " In this same letter, he 
' (Dionysius) mentions that of Clement to the Corinthians, 
c showing that it was the practice to read it in the churches, 
' even from the earliest times. To-day ' says he, l we have 
1 passed the Lord's holy day, in which we have read your 
1 epistle, in reading which we shall alwa}^s have our minds 
1 stored with admonition, as we shall, also, from that writ- 
1 ten to us before by Clement."! 

Jerome also in his book of illustrious menj speaks of 
" Clement, of whom the apostle Paul writes in his epistle 
1 to the Phillippians, the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter 

* . . . wrote a very useful epistle in the name of the 
1 church at Rome to the church of Corinth, which in some 
1 places is read publicly. . . . There is also a second 
' epistle with his name, but it is rejected by the ancients, 
' and a long dialogue of Peter and Apion, which Eusebius 
' has censured in the third book of his Ecclesiastical His- 
1 tory. He died in the third year of Trajan." 

In the words of Dr. Lardner, " All these testimonies 
i agree together, and they are the most valuable we can 

' have Upon the whole I think this epistle was 

1 written by Clement, when bishop, at the end of Domitian's 

* Eusrb. Eccl. Hist, B. Hi. ch. 38. fib. B. iv. ch. 23. ^ Cap. 15. 



38 THE OLD PATHS. 

1 persecution, in the year 96. The passages I have quoted 
1 have sufficiently shown, not only the age of Clement, and 
i of this epistle, but the character of it, and also that this 
i is the only piece of Clement that can be relied upon as 
c genuine. Indeed the second epistle might be shown by 
' many arguments not to be genuine. ... It is expressly 
' rejected by Photius. . . . Dr. Grabe concludes with great 
( probability that this piece was not written before the mid- 
1 die of the third century."* Dr. A. Clarke says, " The 
i second epistle attributed to Clement, is supposed to be a 
' production of the fourth century."f 

Clement then, the author of the epistle bearing his name, 
was the fellow laborer of the Apostle Paul — his name is 
" in the book of life" — he wrote about the time that John 
wrote the Apocalypse — his epistle was not merely his own, 
but in the name of the whole church at Home — he had " the 
preaching of the apostles still sounding in his ears" — many 
of the brethren among whom belabored " had been taught 
by the apostles," and as this epistle was written in the 
name of the whole church, it is the expression of their 
faith as well as his ; and as it was written to the church 
at Corinth where apostles had preached, and from the 
church at Rome, where Paul had died, and within the life- 
time of some of the apostles, it comes to us with such 
claims upon our respect as few other writings can be said 
to possess. Certainly in this epistle we shall find some 
trace of the old paths in which the apostolic and primitive 
Christian Fathers walked, following as they did in the 
footsteps of the apostles of the Lamb. What is the voice 
of Clement? Does he teach the immortality of the soul? 

* Credibility, vol. Si. p. 33-35. t Sec. Lit. p. 90. 



CLEMENT. 39 

The doctrine of the wicked going to hell at death ? the 
universal salvation of mankind ? the doctrine of purga- 
tory ? or the eternal torture of the lost in hell ? We 
shall speedily see what his faith was relating to the destiny 
of mankind or the doctrine of a future life. 

THE EPISTLE OF CLEMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS. 

We remark first, that he never mentions the immortality 
of the soul once in his whole epistle. There is in it 
neither hint nor declaration that all men will be saved or 
that all will live forever. Neither does he say one word 
of wicked men dying and going to hell previous to the 
judgment, nor yet of their being destined to the horrors 
of eternal torment. 

In the fourth chapter, while exhorting to repentance, he 
says, "And even the Lord of all has himself declared with 
( an oath concerning it; As I live, saith the Lord, I desire 
' not the death of a sinner, but that he should repent." 

Again, in the seventh chapter he says, " Let us be kind 
' to one another, according to the compassion and sweet- 
1 ness of him that made us. For it is written, The mer- 
' ciful shall inherit the earth ; and they that are without 
1 evil shall be left upon it : but the transgressors shall 
' perish from off the face of it." 

In the eighth chapter he s]3eaks of the way of salvation 

through Christ, and quotes the language of the prophet, 

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, &c. — When thou 

( shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his 

! seed, he shall prolong his days ; and the pleasure of the 

1 Lord shall prosper in his hand Therefore will I 

( divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide 
1 the spoil with the strong ; because he hath poured out his 



40 THE OLD TATKS. 

1 soul unto death." " Through love did the Lord join 
' us unto himself; whilst for the love that he bore towards 
1 us, our Lord Jesus Christ gave his own blood for us, by 
{ the will of God ; his flesh for our flesh ; his soul for our 
'souls." Chap, xxi: 7. 

Hence if he gave his soul for our souls and poured out 
his soul unto death, then without his death or without our 
believing in him our souls must die, and consequently can- 
not be immortal or undying. 

In the eleventh chapter he says, " Let us consider, be- 
1 loved, how the Lord does continually show us that there 
' shall be a future resurrection, of which he has made our 
4 Lord Jesus Christ the first fruits, raising him from the 

* dead. Let us contemplate, beloved, the resurrection that 

* is continually made before our eyes." 

In the tioelfth chapter he argues the resurrection, " For 
i he says in a certain place Thou shalt raise me up, and I 
' shall confess unto thee. . . And again Job says, Thou 
1 shalt raise up this flesh of mine, that has suffered all 
1 these things." 

He writes again in the seventeenth chapter, " How bless- 
{ ed and wonderful, beloved are the gifts of God! Life 
1 in immortality ! brightness in righteousness, truth in 
1 full assurance, faith in confidence, temperance in holiness. 
' . . . .Let us therefore strive with all earnestness that we 
' may be found in the number of those that wait for him, 
{ that so we may receive the reward which he has pro- 
8 mised." Again he says, " Let us be followers of those 
1 who went about in goat-skins and sheep-skines, preaching 
1 the corning of Christ." 1 Cor. viii. 17. Thus he places 
Life in immortality among the gifts of God, connected 
with righteousness, truth, faith, temperance and holiness. 



CLEMENT. 41 

And as he exhorts to strive with earnestness to be found 
waiting for Christ, that we may thus receive the promised 
reward, it is evident that he did not expect this reward to 
be granted until the appearing of Jesus Christ, whose re- 
ward is with him to give to every man according as his 
work shall be. And hence the necessity of following those 
who " preached the coming of Jesus." 

In the third chapter of his Epistle, he speaks of some 
of the righteous who had died, in terms somewhat vague 
and indefinite. He says nothing of their going to heaven, 
but says of Peter, " at last being martyred, he went to the 
1 place of glory that was due unto him." And again, of 
Paul, he " departed out of the world, and went unto his 
1 holy place ;" and also of others who, " having suffered 
very grievous and cruel punishments, have finished the 
' course of their faith with firmness ; and though weak in 
1 body, yet received a glorious reward." But as in other 
passages he locates the time of reward at the judgment, it 
may be questioned whether the glory he speaks of has any 
reference beyond the glory of suffering for Jesus' sake, 
which the ancients frequently expressed as being " crowned 
1 with the crown of martyrdom," that being the greatest 
earthly honor to which they aspired. And " the holy 
* place" to which he speaks of Paul's departing, may re- 
ceive a fit interpretation from the language of the voice 
from heaven, " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord 
'. . .for they rest from their labors." Or as the pro- 
phet declares concerning the righteous who dies, " He 
1 shall go in peace : he shall rest in his bed ; even the 
* perfect man ; he that walketh in the straight path."* 

* Isaiah Mi. 2. Lowth's Translation. 



42 THE OLD PATHS. 

In confirmation of this view, we quote again from the 
twenty -fir st chapter, as follows : "All the ages of the world, 
' from Adam, even unto this day, are passed away, but 
c they who have been made perfect in love, have by the 
i grace of God obtained a place among the righteous ; and 
i shall be made manifest in the judgment of the kingdom 
1 of Christ. For it is written, Enter into thy chambers 
' for a little space, till my anger and indignation shall pass 
1 away : and I will remember the good day, and will raise 
1 you up out of your graves. Happy then shall we be, 
6 beloved, if we shall have fulfilled the commandments of 
1 God, in the unity of love ; that so through love, our sins 
' may be forgiven us." For such a " manifestation of the 
1 sons of God," the apostles were accustomed to look and 
yearn. And for such a place of security in death, the 
patriarch seems to pray, " O that thou ivoiddst hide me 
in the grave (Sheol) that thou ivouldst keep me secret, un- 
til thy wrath be past, that thou ivouldst appoint me a set 
time and remember me. . . . all the days of my appointed 
time ivill I ivait till my change come. Thou shalt call 
and I will answer thee *' Job xiv. 13-15. Thus multitudes 
have laid them clown to rest in sure confidence that they 
should be remembered in the 'good day,' and raised up out of 
their graves to share the glory of immortality, and the 
blessings of Eternal Life. 

I may further remark that the Epistle of Clement, which 
we have, is quite likely to be corrupted in some respects, 
and that this may not rest upon my own assertion, I will 
introduce the testimony of the learned Dr. Lardner, who 
says : " It is called by the ancients an excellent and use- 
( fill, a great and admirable Epistle. And the Epistle still 
' in our hands deserves all these commendations : though 



CLETvlEXT. 43 

1 not entire, there being some pages wanting in the manu 
1 script of it ; and though we had but one ancient manu- 
1 script of it remaining. For which reason it cannot be al- 
1 together so correct, as if we had a number of copies to 
compare together."* Perhaps another copy might afford 
still more conclusive evidence of the truths which are so 
clearly taught in this. 

One more passage from the eighteenth chapter must 
close our extracts from Clement. " Foolish and unwise 
1 men, who have neither prudence nor learning, may mock 
1 and deride us ; being willing to set up themselves in their 
' own conceits : but what can mortal man do ? Or what 
c strength is there in him that is made out of the dust?" 

This is the pointed testimony of Clement. Never does 
he call man immortal ; but once he does most unqualifiedly 
pronounce him mortal. And this is in accordance with 
the Scriptures, which never speak of immortal men or of 
immortal souls or spirits, but which, on the contrary, do 
term man mortal. Job iv. 17. And as they sometimes 
call man mortal, and never call man, or any part of him, 
body, soul, or spirit, immortal, we are drawn to the con- 
clusion that the doctrine of the mortality of the race, of 
eternal life only through Christ, is the doctrine of the 
Bible ; and hence we are constrained to be followers of 
those who " went about in sheep skins and goat skins 
' preaching the coming of Jesus;" at which coming " this 

1 MORTAL shall put Oil IMMORTALITY, and this CORRUPTIBLE 

1 shall put on incorruption;" when death shall be swal- 
lowed up in full, and final, and eternal victory, and the 
deep and mournful groanings of a curse-burdened world 
shall be lost in the music of the everlasting jubilee. 

* Lardner's Credibility, vol. 2, p. 29. 



44 THE OLD PATHS. 

This was the faith of the early Church. In the testi- 
mony of Clement we find nothing of the immortality of 
souls, nothing of a Romish purgatory, nothing of wicked 
spirits wailing in hell before the judgment, nothing of eter- 
nal torture for the impenitent after the judgment, nothing 
of going to heaven at death, or at any other time; and if 
some expressions may possibly be construed to imply con- 
sciousness in death, they are perhaps susceptible of another 
interpretation ; and they refer to the righteous alone, who 
have sought for glory and honor and immortality by 
patient continuance in well doing. 

We find him teaching that the wages of sin is death ; 
that Christ in dying poured out his soul unto death ; that 
he gave his soul for our souls, his flesh for our flesh ; that 
the merciful shall inherit the earth; that the transgressors 
shall be rooted out of it, and shall perish ; that immor- 
tality is the gift of God; that the righteous shall be made 
manifest at the judgment ; that they shall then be raised 
up out of their graves ; and that man is mortal while out 
of Christ. 

These are old paths ; these the doctrines of Paul and 
of Clement, his fellow-laborer, whose name is in the Book 
of Life. Let us seek to be followers of the faithful, in 
faith and in practice. Let us avoid the teachings of a 
vain and false philosophy, and the oppositions of a mis- 
called science, and seek to learn not philosophy as it is in 
Plato and Socrates, but "the truth as it is in Jesus" 



CHAPTER IV. 
HERMAS, A. T>. 100. 

" Salute Asyncriius, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the 
brethren which are with them" — Rom. xvi. 14. 

Next after Clement in the order of time we meet with 
Hermas, who also lived in the days of the apostles. He 
was the author of a book called the Shepherd or Pastor, 
which we have. 

Eusebius, while speaking of the genuine writings of the 
Apostle Paul, remarks as follows: " Forasmuch as the 
i apostle, in the salutations at the end of his epistle to the 
1 Romans, makes mention among others of Hermas, who, 
1 it is said, wrote the book called the Shepherd, it is to be 
1 observed that it is doubted of by some. Yfherefore it 
1 ought not to be placed among the books of unquestionable 
1 authority. By others it is judged to be a most necessary 
1 book, especially for those who are to be instructed in the 
1 first elements of religion. And we know that it is pub- 
1 licly read in the churches, and that some very ancient 
1 writers make use of it."* Again, while speaking of the 
inspired and authoritative books, and distinguishing them 
from the uninspired, he remarks, " Among the spurious 
1 must be numbered both the books called 'the Acts of 
1 Paul,' and that called ' Pastor,' and the * Revelation of 
' Peter. 5 "f " By w T hich," says Dr. Lardner, " we are not, 

* Euseb. Eccl. Hist. B. iii. eh. 3. f lb. ch. 26. 



46 THE OLD PATHS. 

' I think, to understand that the book of Hermas or the 
' Shepherd, is not genuine, but that it ought not to be 
c reckoned canonical Scripture."* 

Jerome, in his book of " Illustrious Men,"f says : 
11 Hermas, of whom the apostle makes mention in his epis- 
1 tie to the Romans, saying, l Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, 
1 Hennas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren that are 
' with them,' is affirmed to be the author of the book which 
' is called Pastor. And it is publicly read in some churches 
1 of Greece. It is indeed a useful book, and many of the 
1 ancient writers have made use of testimonies out of it." 
Dr. Lardner remarks, u It was well known to Tertullian, 
' and to the Christian churches in general of his time. . . , 
1 It is then probable that this book was written by Hermas, 
! whom Paul salutes. And it ought not to be doubted 
1 that it is an ancient Christian ecclesiastical writing, 
c though not properly canonical. "J The Shepherd of Her- 
i mas was written in Greek ; but we have now only an 
f ancient Latin version, beside some fragments in Greek, 
' preserved in the ancient Greek authors who have quoted 
' him. It consists of three books. In the first are four 
1 Visions, in the second twelve Commands, in the third 
c ten Similitudes "§ 

Prom this work, which has come down to us, we pro- 
ceed to make extracts, exhibiting the faith of those who 
lived in apostolic times, and who listened to apostolic 
teaching concerning the future life. As it was publicly 
read in the early churches as a useful and profitable work, 
it will doubtless give us some intimation concerning the 
old paths in which the primitive pilgrims walked. We 

* Credibility, vol. ii. p. 58. f Cap. x. 

% Credibility, vol. ii. p. 59. § lb. p. 59. 



HER MAS. 47 

will accordingly transcribe every passage in the work 
which has reference to the nature and destiny of man. 
We will commence with 

THE VISIONS. 

In the first vision we read, " But as for those who think 
i wickedly in their hearts, they take to themselves death 
' and captivity; and especially those who love this present 
1 world, and glory in their riches, and regard not the good 
1 things that are to come ; their souls wander up and down, 
4 and know not where to fix. Now this is the case of such 
( as are double-minded, who trust not in the Lord, and de- 
spise and neglect their own life." Speaking of the Sin 
of Hermas' sons, the instructor says, " Wherefore cease 
1 not to admonish thy sons, for the Lord knows that they 
1 will repent with all their heart, and they shall be written 
f in the book of Life." 

In the second vision, after exhorting to constancy, the 
following words occur, (i Happy are ye, as many as shall 
1 endure the great trial that is at hand, and whosoever shall 
1 not deny his life. For the Lord hath sworn by his Son, 
1 that whoso denieth his Son and him, being afraid of his 
1 life, he will also deny him in the world to come." 
Again he exhorts him to remember not the evils which his 
sons have done, but see that they cease to do them. " For 
1 they will be instructed by this doctrine, if thou shalt not 
1 be mindful of what they have done wickedly. For the 
c remembrance of evils worketh death ; but the forget- 
i ting of them, life eternal. " Speaking of those who 
live purely and righteously, and who shall thus be saved 
by the purity of their lives, we read, " They who are of 
1 this kind shall prevail against all impiety, and continue 



48 THE OLD PATHS. 

1 unto life eternal* Happy are they that do righteous- 
1 ness; they shall not be consumed for every 

In the third vision (verse 86) certain women are repre* 
sented personating the Christian virtues, one of them " Is 
4 named Abstinence : she is the daughter of Faith. Who- 
' soever, therefore, shall follow her, shall be happy in all 
i his life ; because he shall abstain from all evil works, be- 
' lieving that if he shall contain himself from all concupis- 
i cence, he shall be the heir of eternal life." 

In the fourth vision he inquires the meaning of the four 
different colors which a symbolic beast had upon its head — - 
the explanation is given thus : " The black denotes the 
k world in which you divell, . . . the fiery and bloody 
' color signifies that this age must be destroyed by fire and 
1 blood. . . . The golden part is ye who have escaped out 
1 of it. . . . But the white color denotes the time of 
i the world which is to come, in which the elect of God 
' shall dwell ; because the elect of God shall be pure and 
i without spot unto life eternal." 

Such is the teaching of the visions of Hermas. The 
wicked take to themselves death — they despise their own 
life, while the penitent are written in the book of life. We 
are not to deny our life, that is our Saviour who is our 
life. Col. iii: i-3. The righteous shall continue unto 
life eternal, and shall not be consumed forever, while the 
obvious inference is, that the unrighteous will not thus con- 
tinue but will be consumed. Those that follow virtue are 
to be heirs of eternal life. They are to dwell in the world 
to come, and be pure without spot unto life eternal. How 
Scriptural this testimony, how exactly in accordance with 
the precious faith of the apostles is the teaching of this 
apostolical man concerning the future life. But this is not 
allj the next book is 



heumas. 49 

the commands. 

There is one expression or promise of reward that is 
found at the conclusion of almost every command. It is 
this: " Thou shalt live to God." Now by this living I 
think it evident that he intends eternal life in God's pre- 
sence, and for this reason, this is the only reward that he 
promises to the obedient, and it is contrasted with the 
death resulting from sin. 

The First Command enjoins believing in one God "who 
4 comprehends all things, who can neither be defined by any 
i words, nor conceived by the mind. Therefore believe in 
? him and fear him; and fearing him, abstain from all evil. 
! Keep these things, and cast all lust and iniquity far from 
'thee; and put on righteousness; and thou shalt live to 
i God ', if thou shalt keep this commandment. ," 

The Third Command is against lying. It concludes 
thus: "If for time to come thou shalt speak truth, . . . 
' by so doing thou mayest attain unto life. And whoso* 
' ever shall hearken unto this command, and do it, and 

* shall depart from all lying, he shall live unto God." 

The Fourth Command is to avoid adultery and con- 
cerning divorce. Hermas inquires of his instructor to 
know more fully bis duty thus: " And I said unto him, 

* For this cause, sir, I inquire diligently into all things, 
1 because I am a sinner, that I may know what I must do 
1 that I may. liw, because my sins are many. And he 

* said unto me, Thou shalt live if thou shalt keep these 
'my commandments. And whosoever shall hear and do 
' these commands, shall live unto God." 

The Fifth Command is against anger and sadness. 
Hermas says, " And I said unto him, sir, I would know 



50 THE OLD PATHS. 

' the sinfulness of anger, that I may keep myself from it. 
1 And he said unto me, Thou shalt know it, and if thou 
' shalt not keep thyself from it, Thou shalt lose thy hope 
1 with all thy house. Wherefore depart from it, For I 
c the messenger of righteousness, am with thee : and all thai 
( depart from it, as many as shall repent with all their 
' hearts, shall live unto God ; and I will be with them, 
1 and will keep them all. . . . Wherefore strengthen thy- 
1 self now in these commands, that thou mayest live unto 
' God. And whosoever shalt observe these commandments 
' shall live unto God." 

The Sixth Command exhorts to follow righteousness. 
" Do thou therefore keep the right way, and leave that 
c which is evil. For the evil way has not a good end, but 
' hath many stumbling blocks ; it is rugged and full of 
i thorns, and leads to destruction ; and is hurtful to all 

' such as walk in it Thou seest therefore how it is 

1 good to follow the angel of righteousness. If therefore 
' thou shalt follow him, and submit to his works, thou shalt 

* live unto God. And as many as shall submit to his 
c works, shall live also unto God" 

The Seventh Command requires to fear God and keep his 
commandments, and concludes thus : " Wherefore, fear 
i God and thou shalt live : and whosoever shall fear him, 
1 and keep his commandments, their life is with the Lord. 
i But they who keep them not, neither is life in them." 

The Eighth Command requires that we depart from all 
evil, "from adultery; from drunkenness ; from riots; from 

* excess of eating ; from daintiness and dishonesty ; from 
1 pride; from fraud; from lying; from detraction; 
1 from hypocrisy ; from remembrance of injuries ; and from 
1 all evil speaking. For these are the works of iniquity ; 



HERMAS. 51 

{ from which the servant of God must abstrain. For he that 
1 cannot keep himself from these things, ca?mot live unto 
1 God. . . Keep thyself therefore from them, that thou may- 
1 est live unto God, and be written among those that ab- 
1 stain from them. . . . Live then in these commandments, 

* and do not depart from them. For if thou shalt keep all 
1 these commandments, thou shalt live unto God. And 
i all they that shall keep these commandments shall live 
' unto God." 

The Ninth Command enjoins daily and believing prayer* 
" For they that are full of faith , ask all things with confix 

* dence, and receive from the Lord, because they ask with- 
1 out doubting. But he that hath doubts shall hardly 

< live unto God, except he repent. . . .Do thou therefore 
' keep the virtue of faith, and depart from doubting, in 

* which is no virtue, and thou shalt live unto God. And 
' all shall live unto God, as many as shall do these 

< things." 

The Tenth Command requires us to put away sadness of 
heart, or melancholy, and to avoid grieving the Holy 
Spirit. " When therefore a man's prayer shall be acconi- 
1 panied with sadness, it will not suffer his requests to as- 
( cend pure to the altar of God. For as wine mingled with 
' vinegar, has not the sweetness it had before ; so sadness 
' being mixed with the Holy Spirit, suffer's not a man's 
c prayer to be the same that it would be otherwise. Where* 
1 fore cleanse thyself from sadness, which is evil, and 

* thou shalt live unto God. And all others shall live 
1 unto God, as many as shall lay aside sadness and put on 
1 cheerfulness." 

The Twelfth Command forbids evil desire and all unholy 
lusts — "For in much delicacy there is folly; and many 



52 THE OLD PATHS. 

* pleasures are needless to the servants of God. Such lust- 

* ing therefore is evil and pernicious, which brings to death 
c the servants of God. For all such lusting is from the 
4 devil. Whosoever therefore shall depart from all evil 
1 desires, shall live unto God; but they that -are subject 
1 unto them shall die forever. For this evil lusting is 
1 deadly. Do thou therefore put on the desire of righte- 

* ousness, and being armed with the fear of the Lord, re- 
i sist all wicked lusting. . . .If thou shalt do these things, 
4 thou shalt be an approved servant of God ; and shall 
' serve him : and all others who shall in like manner serve 

* a good desire shall live unto God. . . .Fear not the 

* devil. . . .But hearken unto me, and fear the Lord Al- 
1 mighty, who is able to save and to destroy you ; and 
' keep his commands, that ye may live unto God. . .Thou 
1 shalt keep them. . . .if thou shalt purify thy heart to- 

* wards the Lord. And all they also shall keep them who 
' shall cleanse their hearts from the vain desires of the pre- 
1 sent world, and shall live unto God." 

Thus closes this ancient writing, The Precepts, or Com- 
mands of H^rmas. How pure and Christian their morali- 
ty, and how clear their testimony upon the questions be- 
fore us. Thou shalt live unto God if thou shalt keep 
these commandments. By so doing, thou may est attain 
unto life. Thou shalt live if thou keep these my com- 
mandments. The evil way leads to destruction. Fear 
God and thou shalt live. Those who do not obey cannot' 1 
receive the blessings, neither is life in them. Evil lust- 
ing is deadly — it brings to death. We are to fear him 
who is able to save and to destroy, and finally if we keep 
these commands we shall live. And how much is the 
teaching of this shepherd to Hennas like the doctrine of 



HERMAS. 53 

the Shepherd of Israel. Let us read it — " And behold, one 
1 came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing 

{ Shall I do, THAT i" MAY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE ? And lie 

1 said unto him, Why callest thou me good ? there is 
{ none good but one, that is God : but if thou wilt enter 

1 into LIFE KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS." Matt. xix. 16, 17. 

This was the teaching of Jesus and his apostles, and their 
immediate followers. This is the primitive doctrine of a 
future life. And this was the sole teaching of Hennas in 
the book of Commands. Life is the only future reward 
held out. Death or destruction is the only punishment 
mentioned. There is not one word concerning immortal 
souls or disembodied spirits from the beginning to the end 
of it. Not one word of dying and going to heaven or hell 
or purgatory, or to some other place which some Protes- 
tants believe in. Not one word about an eternal home in 
some remote portion of the universe. Not one word about 
the eternal torture and torment of the damned in hell. 

And yet this book was written by one who was doubt- 
less a personal friend of the Apostle Paul, who is men- 
tioned by name in one of his Epistles, who heard the word 
of the Lord from apostolic teachers, and who followed in 
the same good old paths in which they trod. Let us weigh 
these facts, and in the light of them discern which is the 
good way, and walk in it. 

The next work of Hermas is a book of allegories and 
similitudes. By this we are not to suppose that Hermas 
construed or interpreted the Scriptures allegorically , or 
mystically. By no means. We find no traces of this per- 
nicious system as yet in the church of Christ. But like 
Bunyan, he wrote allegories and explained them, while he 
firmly held at the same time the literal sense of the word 
of God. We will now examine the teaching of 



54 THE OLD PATHS. 

THE SIMILITUDES. 

The First Similitude teaches us that we have no abid- 
ing city here in this world, but that we should seek for one 
to come. It commences thus : " Ye know that ye, who 
' are the servants of the Lord, live here as in a pilgrimage; 
i for your city is far off from this city. If, therefore, ye 

* know your city in which you are to dwell, why do ye here 
( buy estates, and provide yourselves with delicacies, and 
c stately buildings, and superfluous houses ? For he that 
i provides himself these things in this city, does not think 

'of returning into his oivn city See, therefore, that 

1 like a man in another country, thou procure no more to 

* thyself than what is necessary and sufficient for thee ; and 
i be ready, that when the god or lord of this city shall 
1 drive thee out of it, thou mayest oppose his law, and go 

* into thine own city, where thou mayest with all cheerful- 

* ness live according to thine own law, without wrong. . . . 

c Instead, therefore, of the possessions that ye would other- 
1 wise purchase, redeem those that are in want from their 
1 necessities, as every one is able ; justify the widows ; 
' judge the cause of the fatherless; and spend your riches 
1 and wealth in such works as these. For to this end has 

* God enriched you, that ye might fulfill these kind of ser- 
1 vices. It is much better to do this than to buy lands or 
( houses ; because all such things shall perish with this 
1 present time. But what ye shall do for the name of the 
1 Lord, ye shall find in your city, and shall have joy with- 
1 out sadness or fear. Wherefore, covet not the riches of 
1 the heathen, for they are destructive to the servants of 
1 God ; but trade with your own riches which you possess, 
' by which ye may attain unto everlasting joy. And do 



HERMAS. 55 

1 not commit adultery, nor touch any other man's wife, nor 
1 desire her ; but covet that which is thine own business, 
1 and thou shall be saved." 

The Second Similitude represents the rich man support- 
ed and upheld by the prayers of the poor whose wants he 
supplies, as the vine is upheld by the elm around which it 
twines itself. " With men, therefore, the elm is not 
1 thought to give any fruit ; and they know not, neither 
1 understand, that its company being added to the vine, the 
1 vine bears a double increase, both for itself and for the 
' elm. Even so the poor, praying unto the Lord for the 
* rich, are heard by him, and their riches are increased, be- 
( cause they minister to the poor of their wealth. They 
4 are, therefore, both made partakers of each others good 
c works. Whosoever, therefore, shall do these things, he 
I shall not be forsaken by the Lord, but shall be written in 
l the Book of Life." 

In the Third Similitude, under the figure of leafless 
trees in winter, when the dead are not easily distinguished 
from the living ones, he presents the mingled condition of 
both righteous and wicked in this world. " Because nei- 
1 ther the righteous nor unrighteous are known from one 
1 another, but are all alike in this present world. For 
' this world is as the winter to the righteous men, because 
' they are not known, but dwell among sinners. As in the 
' winter all the trees, having lost their leaves, are like dry 
1 trees, nor can it be discerned which are dry and which 
1 are green ; so in this present ivorld neither the righteous 
i nor wicked are discerned from each other, but they are 
4 all alike." 

In the Fourth Similitude, under the figure of trees 
withered, and others with fruit and leaves, he presents the 



56 THE OLD PATHS. 

future state of mankind. " These trees which are green 
1 are the righteous, which shall possess the world to come. 
1 For the world to come is the summer to the righteous; 
1 but to sinners it is the winter. When, therefore, the 
1 mercy of the Lord shall shine forth, then they who serve 
1 God shall he made manifest and plain unto all. For as 
{ in the summer the fruit of every tree is shown and made 
1 manifest; so also the works of the righteous shall be 
1 declared and made manifest, and they shall all be re- 
{ stored in that world merry and joyful. For the other 
* kind of men, namely, the wicked, like the trees which 
' thou sawest dry, shall as such be found dry and without 
{ fruit in that other world, and like dry wood shall be 
1 burnt ; and it shall be made manifest that they have 
1 done evil all the time of their life ; and they shall be 
1 burnt, because they have sinned, and have not repented 
c of their sins. And also all the other nations shall be 
'burnt, because they have not acknowledged God their 
c Creator. Do thou, therefore, bring forth good fruit, that 

c in the summer thy fruit shall be known If, there- 

1 fore, thou shalt do this, thou mayest have fruit in the 
1 world to come ; and all, as many as shall do in like 
' manner, shall bring forth fruit." 

In the Fifth Similitude he treats of fasting, and, to- 
wards the close, of bodily purity. Man is represented as 
a vineyard, out of which sins are to be rooted, and in 
which every grace should flourish. While speaking of the 
endeavors of Christ to free his people from their sins, he 
says : " He himself labored very much, and suffered very 

' much, that he might blot out their offences Where- 

1 fore, having blotted out the sins of his people, he showed 
1 to them the paths of life, giving them the law which he 



HERMAS. 57 

c had received of the Father." Concerning bodily purity, 
he has these words, which show that he looked upon the 
redemption of man as a bodily redemption. u For every 
1 pure body shall receive its reward that is found without 
1 spot, in which the Holy Spirit has been appointed to 

* dwell Keep this thy body clean and pure, that the 

* spirit which shall dwell in it may bear witness unto it, 
1 and be judged to have been with thee. Also take heed 
1 that it be not instilled into thy mind that this body per- 
4 ishes, and thou abuse it to any lust. For if thou shalfc 
1 defile thy body, thou shalt also at the same time defile 

* the Holy Spirit • and if thou shalt defile the Holy Spirit, 
' thou shalt not live. , . . . But now guard thyself- and 
1 seeing God is almighty and merciful, he will grant a 
1 remedy to what thou hast formerly done amiss, if for the 
1 time to come thou shalt not defile thy body and spirit, for 
( they are companions together, and the one cannot be de- 

* filed but the other will be so too. Keep, therefore, both 
' of them pure, and thou shalt live unto God." 

In the sixth similitude he says : " I shall be happy if I 
' shall walk according to these commands, and whosoever 
' shall walk in them shall live unto God. . . . Walk 
1 in my commands, and ye shall live unto God : These 
1 things have I spoken unto you." Afterward under the 
figure of sheep living in pleasure and luxury, he represents 
" Such as have forever departed from God, and given them- 
1 selves up to the lusts of this present time. To these 
*■ therefore there is no return, by repentance, unto life ; 
6 because that to their other sins they have added this, that 
c they have blasphemed the name of the Lord. These kind 
1 of men are ordained unto death. . . . Whosoever 
1 therefore have delivered themselves over to such pleasures 



58 THE OLD PATHS. 

are thus punished ; because that when they had life they 
rendered themselves liable to death. . . . And whosoever 
shall continue in them, and shall not repent of what they 
have done, shall bring death upon themselves." 
In the Eighth Similitude he speaks of " The deserters 
and betrayers of the church ; who, with the rest of their 
crimes, have also blasphemed the Lord, and denied his 
name which had been called upon them. Therefore all 
these are dead unto God ; and thou seest that none of them 
have repented, although they have heard my commands 
which thou hast delivered unto them. From these men 
therefore life is far distant" Of others he says " They 
have been counterfeits, and brought in evil doctrines ; 
and have perverted the servants of God ; but especially 
those who had sinned ; not suffering them to return unto 
repentance, but keeping them back by their false doctrines. 
These therefore have hope ; and thou seest that many of 
them have repented, since the time that thou hast laid my 
commands before them ; and many more will yet repent. 
But they that shall not repent, shall lose both repent- 
ance and life. . . . Thou seest therefore, that in the 
repentance of sinners there is life ; but that for those who 
repent not, death is prepared." He speaks again of others 
who are " Evil-speakers; who detract from those that are 
absent, and have never peace among themselves, and that 
envy one another. Howbeit to these also repentance is 
offered . . . but they that shall not repent, but shall 
continue on in their wicked doings, shall die the death. 
. . . But if any one shall again return to his dis- 
sention, ... he shall lose his life. For the life 
of those who keep the commandments of the Lord, con- 
sists in doing what they are commanded ; not in princi- 



HERMAS. 59 

* pality, or in any other dignity. For by forbearance and 
1 humility of mind, men shall attain unto life, but by se- 
1 ditions, and contempt of the law, they shall purchase 
1 death unto themselves, . . . but if they shall not 
1 repent, they shall die." Again he speaks of others who 
" have altogether departed from God. These have ut- 
1 terly lost life. And some being in a doubtful state, 
'have raised up dissentions ; these may yet return if 
1 they shall suddenly repent, and not continue in their 
1 lusts, but if they shall continue in their evil-doing, 
' they shall die." Of "others still living among the 
1 heathen people," and who " being lifted up with their 
i vanities, have utterly fallen away from God, and followed 
' the works and wickednesses of the heathen," he says, 
" these kind of men are to be reckoned among strangers to 
1 the gospel. Others of these begin to be doubtful in their 
1 minds by reason of their wicked doings, ever to attain 
1 unto salvation. ... To these there is still hope of return ; 
' but they must repent quickly. . . . But they that 
1 repent not, but continue still in their pleasures, are nigh 
1 unto death. . . . Whosoever shall repent with all 
' their hearts, and cleanse themselves from all the evils that 
' I have before mentioned, and not add anything more to 
1 their sins, shall receive from the Lord the cure of their 
1 former iniquities, if they shall not make any doubt of 
1 these commands, and shall live unto God. But they that 
1 shall continue to add to their transgressions, and shall 
1 still converse with the lusts of this present world, shall 
1 condemn themselves unto death. But do thou walk in 
1 these commands, and thou shalt live unto God ; and 
' whosoever shall walk in these, and exercise them rightly, 
1 shall live unto God." 



60 THE OLD PATHS. 

In the Ninth Similitude, after beholding the erection 
of the church, under the figure of a building, he says — 
" For all these things I gave thanks unto the Lord, that 
' being moved with mercy towards all those upon whom 
1 his name is called, he sent to us the angel of repentance 
i to preside over us who have sinned against him ; and that 
i he has refreshed our spirits which were almost gone, and 
( who had no hope of salvation, but are now refreshed to 
f the reneival of life. . . .For they could not otherwise en- 

* ter into the kingdom of God, but by laying aside the 
' mortality of their former life. They, therefore, being dead, 
1 were nevertheless sealed with the seal of the Son of God, 
( and so entered into the kingdom of God. For before a 
' man receives the name of the Son of God, he is ordained 
' unto death ; but when he receives that seal, he is freed 
''from death, and assigned unto life. Now that seal is 
' the water of baptism, into which men go down under the 
c obligation unto death, but come up appointed unto 
' life." Alluding to the punishment of apostates, he says : 
" And does not he then seem to thee to sin more who 
' ought to follow goodness, if he shall prefer the part of 

* sin, than he who offends without knowing the power of 
1 God ? Wherefore these are indeed ordained unto death ; 
f but they who have known the Lord, and have seen his 
£ wonderful works, if they shall live wickedly, they shall 

* be doubly punished, and shall bib forever." 

Again he says of those who " Have indeed the name of 
1 Christians, but are empty of faith, nor is there any fruit 
c of the truth in them. Nevertheless there is room left to 
1 them for repentance, if they shall suddenly pursue it ; 
' but if they shall delay, they also shall be partakers of 
( death with the foregoing kind. . . .There is, therefore, to 



HERMAS. 61 

1 these a return unto life by repentance." Concerning 
those who were encumbered with the cares and riches of 
this life, he declares, " If, therefore, having repented, they 
shall do the works of righteousness, they shall live : but 
if they shall continue in their evil courses, they shall be 
delivered to those. . . .that will take away their life." 
And of others who " live only in words but their works 
1 are dead. . . .This kind of men then is neither dead nor 
1 alive ; nevertheless these also may live, if they shall pre- 
1 sently repent : but if not, they shall be delivered to those 
1 . . . .who shall take away their life." 

Speaking of those who have quarrels and refuse forgive- 
ness, he says : " Those who will be as stiff stones, mindful 
1 of grudges and offences, and full of anger among them- 
* selves. . . .this kind of men shall hardly live. Our God 
{ and Lord, who ruleth over all things, and has power over 
1 all his creatures, will not remember our offences, but is 
1 easily appeased by those who confess their sins : but man, 
c being languid, mortal, infirm and full of sins, perseveres 
1 in his anger against man ; as if it were in his power to 
1 save or to destroy him. But I, as the angel who am set 
1 over your repentance, admonish you, that whosoever 
1 amoDg you has any such purpose, he should lay it aside, 
1 and return unto repentance ; and the Lord will heal your 
1 former sins, if you shall purge yourselves from this evil 
1 spirit ; but if you shall not do it, ye shall be delivered 
1 to him unto death." Again, he refers to " such minis- 
1 ters as discharge their ministry amiss ; ravishing away 
1 the goods of the widows and fatherless ; and serve them- 
1 selves, not others, out of those things which they have 
1 received. These, if they continue in their covetousness, 
1 have delivered themselves unto death, nor shall there be 



62 THE OLD PATHS, 

i any hope of life for them. But if they shall be con- 
' verted, and shall discharge their ministry sincerely, they 
1 may Live. As for such as have denied the name of the 
< Lord, and not returned again to the Lord, but have be- 
1 come savage and wild ; not applying themselves to the 
1 servants of God, but being separated from them, have for 
1 a little carefulness lost their lives. . . .Howbeit to these 

* there is, after all, repentance allowed, if they shall not be 
i found from their hearts to have denied Christ : but if any 
' of these shall be found to have denied him from his heart, 

* I cannot tell whether such an one can attain u?ito life." 

Again, while warning them against denying the Lord, 
he writes, " For if all nations punish their servants which 

* deny their masters, what think you that the Lord will do 
'unto you, who has the power of all things? Remove, 
1 therefore, from your hearts these doubts, that ye may 
1 live forever unto God." And towards the close he 
says, " If, therefore, ye shall believe and hearken to these 
c words, and shall walk in them, and shall correct your ways, 
1 ye shall live. But if ye shall continue in malice, and in 
1 the remembrance of injuries, no such sinners shall live 
( unto God." 

In the Tenth Similitude he speaks of repentance, and 
enjoins obedience to the commands that have been given. 
Says Hermas, " I declare to all men the wonderful works 
c of God ; and I hope that all who love them and have be- 
c fore sinned, when they shall hear these things, will repent 
1 and recover life. . . .and whosoever shall do according to 
c the commands of this Shepherd, he shall live ; and shall 
' have great honor both here and with the Lord. But 
{ they that shall not keep his commands, flee from their 
1 life, and are adversaries unto it. And they that follow 



HERMAS. 63 

' not his commands shall deliver themselves unto death, 
1 and shall be every one guilty of his own blood. But I 
1 say unto thee, keep these commandments, and thou shalt 
1 find a cure for all thy sins . . . .And whosoever shall 
1 walk in these commands shall live, and shall be happy in 
1 his life. But he that shall neglect them shall not live, 
1 and shall be unhappy in his life." That is, he shall be 
unhappy in his present life, and shall not live forever. 

Thus we conclude our extracts from the writings of Her- 
mas. The passages quoted from the Similitudes are too 
numerous for repetition or recapitulation, but the reader 
can see at a glance that they teach the same doctrines as 
the Visions and the Commands, from which we have before 
made extracts. Our examination of the writings of this 
apostolic Christian has been necessarily prolix. We are 
fully rewarded for our pains by the clear testimony to Gos- 
pel truth which we are thus enabled to deduce. And we' 
are confident that no one coming after us can obtain any 
contravening evidence. Every passage in which he refers 
to the future condition of mankind has been largely quoted. 
There is no " other side" to the statement of this good 
man's faith — a faith as yet not spoiled by vain philosophy 
or encumbered by the oppositions of a fabled science. 

We are struck with the pure morality and Christianity 
which shines in every page of these writings. The sym- 
bols are sometimes peculiar and often ingenious and fanci- 
ful, but the precepts that are scattered through the whole 
remind us of the words of those who have " been with 
Jesus" and learned of him. No human writing furnishes 
us purer morality, or better precepts ; and the doctrines 
are the doctrines of Christianity as they fell from the 
burning lips of the apostles of Jesus Christ. Can this 



64 THE OLD PATHS* 

doctrine be unsound which was written, taught, believed, 
.and publicly read among the Christian churches while yet 
some of the apostles were living in their midst ? 

But this writer sets before the people life and death. In 
all his writings there is no promised reward but life, no 
threatened punishment but death. He gives no hint of 
any intermediate state of consciousness after death and 
before the resurrection. He intimates nothing of going 
to heaven or to hell at death. He says not one word of 
universal salvation. He gives no countenance to the idea 
of a limited future punishment to be succeeded by univer- 
sal restoration. He says nothing of eternal torment and 
agony as the portion of the impenitent ; he says nothing of 
immortal souls or of immortal sinners ; he makes no men- 
tion of deathless spirits, and the only immortality he recog- 
nizes is a gift of God. Man he most unqualifiedly pro- 
nounces mortal, never immortal. Life he constantly 
holds out as the reward of obedience, and death and de- 
struction he invariably teaches to be the wages of sin. 
And we are not to suppose that he attached a spiritual 
meaning to the words, by which everlasting destruction 
was made to signify everlasting preservation, and death 
was explained to mean eternal life in torment. No ! not 
one hint of such interpretations can be found in all his 
writings. This putting light for darkness and darkness for 
light was reserved for other bolder and less reliable writers 
than those who listened to apostolic teachings, received 
apostolic salutations, and cherished an apostolic faith. No 
one would derive the doctrine of the immortality of the 
soul or the endless torment of the sinner, from the writings 
of Hermas any more than they would from the writings of 
Paul, in which every careful reader may know there is no 



HERMAS. 65 

intimation of either of these doctrines to be found. Thus 
then we seek for the old paths. Hernias walked in them 
as did the apostles before him. We follow rejoicingly on, 
believing that this is the good way, and that by walking 
therein we shall find rest to our souls. We teach as did 
Hermas. " We " hold fast" the same u form of sound 
words" which he had received of the apostles. We do not 
build our faith on Hermas, but having found that Paul 
teaches it in all his epistles, we are glad to follow on and 
to find that instead of having adopted a novel principle of 
interpretation, we come to the same conclusions that were 
arrived at by the Christians of primitive ages. We must 
have read Paul aright when others who heard him agree 
with us in the matter. And shall a faith thus derived 
from apostolic writers, and confirmed by the united voice 
of their disciples, hearers and fellow laborers, be in the 
nineteenth century counted as a novelty, and condemned 
as a heresy ? And is the judgment of the man who knows 
so little of Christian antiquity, as to pronounce this doc- 
trine new, worthy of very much deference on the part of 
any save those who are the blinded followers of still blinder 
guides ? 



CHAPTER V. 
IGNATIUS, A. D. 107. 

" Wherefore , I exhort all of you that ye obey the loord of righteousness, 
and exercise all patience which ye have seen set forth before your 

eyes in the blessed Ignatius." Polycarp to the Philip- 

pians, iii. 7. 

Leaving the writings of Hermas and passing downward, 
we next meet with Ignatius, a saint and martyr of most 
blessed memory. Dr. A. Clarke remarks concerning him, 
that he was " Surnamed Theophorus, born in Syria, edu- 
1 cated under the apostles John and Peter, and became 
1 bishop of Antioch, about a. d. 67, in which he continued 
c till a. d. 107, when he was sent to Rome by the order of 
1 Trajan, and devoured by wild beasts, being found guilty 
' of believing in Jesus Christ !"* 

Says Dr. Lardner : " Ignatius was bishop of Antioch, in 
c Syria, the latter part of the first, and the beginning of the 
1 second century. He is said by some to have been the 

* child whom our Lord took in his arms and set in the 

* midst of his disciples, as an emblem of humility. But of 
4 this story there is no foundation in the earliest antiquity. 
1 Eusebius in his ecclesiastical history says, ' that Euodius 
' having been the first bishop of Antioch, Ignatius succeeded 
c him.'t With whom St. Jerome agrees. In his Chronicle, 

* Sacred Literature, p. 90. f Eccl. Hist. B. iii. ch. 22. 



IGNATIUS. 67 

1 Eusebius places the ordination of Ignatius in the year 69, 
1 after the death of Peter and Paul at Rome. Nevertheless 
c some think, that Ignatius was ordained by Peter ; and 
1 suppose that Euodius and Ignatius were both bishops of 
' Antioch at one and the same time ; the one of the Jewish, 
' and the other of the Gentile Christians ; but after the 
'death of Euodius, they all came to be under Ignatius, as 
1 their bishop. If Ignatius only succeeded Euodius about 
1 the year of our Lord 70, it may be reasonably concluded, 
1 he was acquainted with several of the apostles. And St. 
1 Chrysostom says, ' he conversed familiarly with them, and 
* was perfectly acquainted with their doctrine,' and had the 
1 hands of Apostles laid upon him." 

Eusebius makes mention of Ignatius again in his history, 
where after referring to Polycarp and Papias he alludes to 
" Ignatius, also, who is celebrated by many even to this 
1 day, as the successor of Peter at Antioch ; was the second 
1 who obtained the episcopal office there. It is said that 
1 he was sent from Syria to Rome to be devoured by wild 
1 beasts for the testimony of Christ. And making his 
1 journey through Asia under a strong guard, he confirmed 
1 the churches in every city by his discourses, and especially 
1 cautioned them against the heresies then springing up, 
1 and gaining ground ; and exhorted them to adhere to the 
'tradition of the apostles. And for the greater security, 
' he also put down his instructions in writing. Therefore 
'when he came to Smyrna, where Polycarp was, he wrote 
1 an epistle to the church at Ephesus, another to the church 
c in Magnesia, which is situated upon the Meander, . . . 
1 another also to the church of the Trallians. ... To 
1 these must be added the epistle to the church at Borne. 
1 . . . Afterwards removing from Smyrna he wrote to the 



G8 THE OLD PATHS. 

Philadelphians from Troas, and to the clmrch of Smyrna , 
' and particularly to Polycarp, who was bishop there."* 

Poly carp also in his epistle makes mention of u the 
blessed Ignatius," and also of " the Epistles of Ignatius, 
c which he wrote to us. . . . by which ye may be greatly 
1 profited ; for they treat of faith and patience, and of all 
1 things that pertain to edification in the Lord Jesus."f 
Jerome also, in his book of Illustrious Men, J says of 
" Ignatius, the third bishop of the church of Antioch after 
1 the apostle Peter, in the persecution under Trajan, was 
c condemned to wild beasts. And when he came to Smyrna, 
1 where Polycarp, the disciple of John, was bishop, he 

* wrote an epistle to the Ephesians, another to the Magne- 
1 sianSj a third to the Trallians, a fourth to the Romans : 
c and when he was gone thence he wrote to the Pkiladel- 
l phians, the Smyrneans, and in particular to Polycarp." 

These epistles so particularly mentioned by these nume- 
rous Christian writers, have come down to us, bearing the 
names of the author, and the churches to whom they were 
respectively addressed. The testimony of such an early 
martyr must of course be of great value in ascertaining 
what was the primitive doctrine of a future life. 

What then was the teaching of Ignatius, the successor 
of Peter, at Antioch, where the disciples were first called 
Christians ? What was the doctrine of this cotemporary 
of the apostles? of this faithful martyr of Jesus? Surely 
he who conversed familiarly with the apostles and was per- 
fectly acquainted with their doctrine, will give us light upon 
the points we seek to investigate. Does Ignatius teach the 

* Euseb. Eccl. Hist. B. iii. ch. 86. f Philippians iii. 7 ; iv. 15, 15. 

X Cap. 16. 



IGNATIUS. 69 

immortality of the soul ? the doctrine of going to heaven 
or hell at death ? or the eternal torment of sinners ? If 
he does, his testimony must have weight. If he does not, 
his evidence is no less weighty. Let us commence then 
our extracts from his writings. 
Our first quotations are from his 

EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 

In the first chapter he speaks thus : " For even Christ, 
' our inseparable life, is sent by the will of the Father." 

In the second chapter he remarks : " There is one Phy- ^ 
1 sician, both fleshly and spiritual, made and not made ; God 
1 incarnate ; true life in death ; both of Mary and of 
God." Now by this he evidently implies that the divine 
nature of Christ was true life, while the mortal nature is 
termed death. Again he says, " I rejoice that I have been 
1 thought worthy by this present epistle to converse, and 

< joy together with you; that with respect to the other 
1 life, ye love nothing but God only." Here the other life 
or life to come, is presented as a motive to point them to 
love God only. 

In the third chapter, unlike many who proclaim that the 
world is yet in its infancy, Ignatius solemnly writes, " The 
4 last times are come upon us : let us therefore be very 

< reverent, and fear the long-suffering of God, that it be not 

< to us unto condemnation. For let us either fear the 
1 wrath that is to come, or let us love the grace that is pre- 
' sent, that by the one or the other of these we may be 
1 found in Christ Jesus, unto true life." 

In the fourth chapter he says, " Be not deceived, my 

< brethren ; those that 'corrupt families by adultery shall 
1 not inherit the kingdom of God. If therefore they who 



^0 THE OLD PATHS. 



' do this according to the flesh, have suffered death; how 
'much more shall he die, who by his wicked doctrine cor- 
1 rupts the faith of God for which Christ was crucified ? 
' He that is thus defiled, shall depart into unquenchable 
'fire* and so also shall he that hearkens to him. For this 
4 cause did the Lord suffer the ointment to be poured on 
' his head ; that he might breathe the breath of immor- 
tality into his church. Be not ye therefore anointed 
' with the evil savor of the doctrine of the prince of this 
' world : let him not take you captive from the life that is 
' set before you. And why are we not all wise, seeing we 
< have received the knowledge of God, which is Jesus 
1 Christ ? Why do we suffer ourselves foolishly to perish ; 
1 not considering the gift which the Lord has truly sent to 
' us ? Let my life be sacrificed for the doctrine of the 
'cross; which is indeed a scandal to the unbelievers, but 

1 to us is salvation and life eternal Hence all 

1 the power of magic became dissolved; and every bond of 
'wickedness was destroyed; men's ignorance was taken 
' away ; and the old kingdom abolished ; God himself ap- 
' pearing in the form of a man, for the renewal of eternal 
' life. From thence began what God had prepared : from 
'thenceforth things were disturbed; for as much as he 
' designed to abolish death." In the same chapter he in- 
timates his purpose to write to them again more fully con- 
cerning Christ, "both in his faith and charity; in his suf- 
' fering and in his resurrection. Especially if the Lord 
' shall make known unto me, that ye all by name come to- 
' gether in common in one faith, and in one Jesus Christ; 

* See an explanation of this phrase with examples of its use in 
" Pauline Theology," page 49. 



IGNATIUS. 71 

1 who was of the race of David, according to the flesh ; 
1 the Son of man, and Son of God ; obeying your bishop 
'and the presbytery with an entire affection; breaking one 
( and the same bread, which is the medicine of immor- 
1 tality ; our antidote that we should not die, but live for- 
1 ever in Christ Jesus" 

These are all the passages in this epistle in which Igna- 
tius makes reference to a future state. No reader can fail 
to see the course of his testimony which he gave concern- 
ing the future life, while walking in the old paths. We 
proceed now to examine 

THE EPISTLE TO THE MA.GNESIANS. 

In the fir st chapter he writes : " When I heard of your 

I well ordered love and charity in God, being full of joy, 
( I desired much to speak unto you in the faith of Jesus 
' Christ. For having been thought worthy to obtain a 
i most excellent name,* in the bonds which I carry about, 

I I salute the churches ; wishing in them a union both of 
' the body and spirit of Jesus Christ, our eternal life ; as 
'also of faith and charity." 

In the second chapter he says, " Seeing then all things 
1 have an end, there are these two together set before us, 
1 death and life : and every one shall depart unto his 
1 proper place. For as there are two sorts of coins, the 
' one of God, the other of the World ; and each of them 
1 has its proper inscription engraven upon it ; so also it is 
1 here. The unbelievers are of this world ; but the faith- 

* Literally " a name carrying a great deal of divinity in it," 
referring probably to his name Tkeophorus, from theos God, and 
pkero, to bear. 



72 THE OLD PATHS. 

1 ful, through love, have the character of God the Father 

* by Jesus Christ ; by whom, if we are not readily disposed 
' to die after the likeness of his passion, his life is not in 
1 us . . . .Let there be nothing that may be able to make a 

* division among you ; but be ye united to your bishop, 
( and those who preside over you, to be your pattern and 

* direction is the ivay to immortality." 

In the third chapter, while cautioning them not to be 
deceived with strange doctrines, or led away by Jewish 
fables, he says, " Wherefore if they who were brought up 

* in these ancient laws, came nevertheless to the newness of 
'hope; no longer observing Sabbaths, but keeping the 

* Lord's day, in which also our life is sprung up by him, 
1 and through his death, whom yet some deny. . . .How 
' shall we be able to live without him ; whose disciples 
i the very prophets themselves being, did by the spirit ex- 
' pect him as their master, and therefore, he whom they 

* justly waited for, being come, raised them up from the 
'dead.* Let us not then be insensible of his goodness ; 
' for should he have dealt with us according to our works, 
4 we had not noiv had a being." In concluding the chapter, 
he exhorts them to " be fully instructed in the birth, 
{ and suffering, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our hope; 
' which was accomplished in the time of the government of 
' Pontius Pilate, and that most truly and certainly ; and 
c from which God forbid that any among you should be 
' turned aside." 

Thus wrote Ignatius to the Magnesian church. Can we 
mistake his testimony ? Let us proceed, to examine his 

* See Matt, xxvii. 52. To which Ignatius evidently refers here. 



IGNATIUS. 73 

EPISTLE TO THE TRALLIANS. 

In the first chapter he salutes " The holy church which 
c is at Tralles in Asia; beloved of God the father of Jesus 
' Christ ; elect and worthy of God ; having peace through 
' the flesh and blood, and passion of Jesus Christ our hope ; 
( in the resurrection which is by him" and says, " Ye ap« 
' pear to me to live not after the manner of men, but ac- 
1 cording to Jesus Christ; who died for us, that so, be- 
1 lieving in his death, ye might escape death." 

In the second chapter he warns them against false doc- 
trine and heresy, " For they that are heretics confound the 

* doctrine of Jesus Christ with their own poison ; whilst 
' they seem worthy of belief: as men give a deadly potion 
*mLxed with sweet wine, which he who is ignorant of does 
1 with the treacherous pleasure sweetly drink in his own 

* death. . . .Stop your ears, therefore, as often as any one 
' shall speak contrary to Jesus Christ ; who was of the 

* race of David, of the Virgin Mary. Who was truly 

* born, and did eat and drink, . . . .was truly crucified and 
1 dead, . . . .who was also truly raised from the dead by 
' his Father in the same manner as he will also raise up us 
i who believe in him, by Christ Jesus ; without whom we 

* have no true life. But if, as some who are atheists, 

* that is to say, infidels, pretend, that he only seemed to 

* suffer (they themselves only seeming to exist) ; why then 
( am I bound ? * Why do I desire to fight with beasts ? 

* Therefore do I die in vain : Therefore I will not speak 

* falsely against the Lord. Flee, therefore, these evil 
1 plants, which bring forth deadly fruit ; of which if any 
( one taste he shall presently die. For these are not the 

* plants of the Father ; seeing if they were, they would ap- 



74 THE OLD PATHS. 

1 pear to be the branches of the cross, and their fruit would 

1 be INCORRUPTIBLE." 

Leaving the Epistle to the Trallians, we now proceed to 
quote briefly from 

THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, 

In the first chapter he remarks, " It is good for me to 
1 set from the world unto God ; that I may rise again unto 
' him." 

In the second chapter he says, " If I shall suffer I shall 
i then become the freeman of Jesus Christ, and shall rise 
' free." . . ."I would rather die for Jesus Christ, than rule 
' to the utmost ends of the earth !" 

In the third chapter he declares, " I take no pleasure 
1 in the food of corruption, nor in the pleasures of this life. 
c I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus 
1 Christ the Son of God, made in these last times of the 
( seed of David and Abraham, and the drink of God I long 
£ for, is his blood which is incorruptible love and perpetual 
c life." There is another passage where he tells his bre- 
thren, " Ye shall not hinder me from living, nor desire me 
1 to die," but as this reading of the Greek is contradicted 
by the Latin copy, we pass it by with the statement that 
in the whole epistle he makes use of no expressions that 
teach the natural immortality of man. He does speak of 
attaining unto God, or unto Christ, but by this it would 
seem he means that he should " be truly a disciple of 
Christ," as he expresses it, thus having fellowship with his 
sufferings, that he might thus " rise free " in the resurrec- 
tion at the last day, and reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. 
Leaving this we pass to 



IGNATIUS. 75 

THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILADELPHIANS. 

In the first chapter he addresses " The Church of 
1 God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, which is at 
' Philadelphia in Asia, which has obtained mercy, being 
'fixed in the concord of God, and rejoicing evermore in 
' the passion of our Lord, and being fulfilled in all mercy 
1 through his resurrection; which I also salute in the 
1 blood of Jesus Christ, which is our eternal and undefiled 

"joy" 

In the second chapter he says, " To me, Jesus Christ 
i is instead of all the incorrupted monuments in the world ; 
'together with those undefiled monuments, his cross, and 

* death, and resurrection, and the faith which is by him ; 
1 by which I desire, through your prayers, to be justified. 
c . . .The Gospel has somewhat in it far above all other dis- 
1 pensations ; namely, the appearance of our Saviour the 
i Lord Jesus Christ, his passion and resurrection. For 
c the beloved prophets referred to him : but the gospel is 

* the perfection c/'incorruption." How perfectly this ac- 
cords with the statement of Paul, that Christ u hath 
abolished, death, and brought life and immortality to 

LIGHT in THE GOSPEL." 

In the third chapter, at the close of the epistle, he re* 
fers to certain Christians, and says, " May our Lord Jesus 
1 Christ honor them ; in whom they hope, both m flesh, and 
1 soul, and spirit; in faith, in love, in unity* Farewell in 
( Christ Jesus our common hope" 

Thus closes this epistle in which, while the resurrection 
is constantly presented as the object of the Christian's 
hope, there is not one intimation that he believed in the 
natural immortality of the soul or any of the errors that 
have spruug from that unscriptural idea. And here I am 



76 the old paths, 

reminded of the following truthful admission of the learned 
Dr. A. Clarke. " One remark I cannot help making ; the 
' doctrine of the resurrection seems to have been thought 

* of much more consequence among the primitive Christians 

* than it is now! Kow is this ? The apostles were con- 

* tinually insisting on it, and exciting the followers of G-od 
1 to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness, through it. And 
4 their successors in the present day seldom mention it ! 
c So apostles preached; and so primitive Christians believed ; 
' go we preach and so our hearers believe. There is not a 
4 doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid ; and 
' there is not a doctrine in the present system of preaching 
'which is treated with more neglect."* Could there be a 
more frank admission that M the present system of preach* 
ing " is more apostate than apostolic ? 

THE EPISTLE TO THE SMYRNiEANS. 

In the first chapter of this epistle we find Ignatius 
writing in opposition to certain heretics, that Christ 
was truly crucified by Pontius Pilate, &c. " That he 
' might set up a token for all ages through his resurrec- 
1 tion to all his holy and faithful servants, whether they be 
1 Jews or Gentiles, in one body of his church. Now all 

* these things he suffered for us that we might be saved, 
' And he suffered truly, as he also truly raised up himself; 
' and not, as some unbelievers say, that he only seemed to 

* suffer, they themselves only seeming to be. And as they 

* believe, so shall it happen unto them ; when being 
6 divested of the body they shall become mere spirits I 
i But I know that even after his resurrection, he was in 

* Notes at the end of 1 Cor. xv, 



IGNATIUS. 77 

< the flesh ; and I believe that he is still so. And when he 
1 came to those that were with Peter, he said unto them, 
' Take, handle me, and see that I am not an incorporeal 
' demon. And straightway they felt him and believed ; 
1 being convinced both by his flesh and spirit. For this 
1 cause they despised death, and were found to be above it. 
1 But after his resurrection he did eat and drink with them, 
' as he was flesh ; although as to his spirit he was united 
1 to the Father." 

One remark here deserves notice : " And as they believe 
' so shall it happen unto them ; they shall become mere 
f spirits !" This seems to be a most cutting stroke of 
irony; as they believed that Jesus was nothing but & phan- 
tom or shade, so they will be when their life has ended. 
" From whence," says Dr. Lardner, " I think it appears, 
1 Ignatius was wont to use the w T ords demon and demoniac 
'as equivalent to phantom or spirit and phantastical."* 
Of course, he does not intend to represent by this the 
separate state of the dead, as he is only speaking of heretics; 
and the expression seems to amount to this, that as they 
thought Christ to be a phantom or nothing, so they them- 
selves would become phantoms or mere spirits by rejecting 
him. 

In the second chapter he speaks of " the Lord Jesus 
4 Christ, who is our true life" Of unbelievers who denied 
these teachings, he says, " God forbid that I should make 
1 any mention of them, till they shall repent to a true be- 

< lief of Christ's passion, which is our resurrection. . . . 
1 They abstain from the eucharist, because they confess not 
c the eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
i which suffered for our sins, and which the Father of his 

* Credibility, vol. ii. p. 92. 



78 THE OLD PATHS. 

* goodness raised again from, the dead. And for this cause, 
1 contradicting the gift of God, they die in their disputes ; 
1 but much better would it be for them to receive it, that 
( they might one day rise through it. It will, therefore, 
1 become you to abstain from such persons, .... but to 

* hearken to the prophets, an'd especially to the Gospel, in 
1 which both Christ's passion is manifested unto us, and his 
'resurrection perfectly declared." 

Again, in the third chapter, he salutes them " in general, 
' and every one in particular, in the name of Jesus Christ, 
' and in his flesh and blood ; in his passion and resurrec- 
1 tion, both fleshly and spiritually ; and in the unity of 
1 God with you." These extracts may serve to show that 
the preaching of Christ in those days extended farther than 
the bare fact of his crucifixion. They preached " Christ 
1 that died, yea rather that is risen again." His resur- 
rection was their hope, and the doctrine of the resurrection 
was the centre of that wondrous system of glad tidings 
which was to those who believed " the power of God and 
1 the wisdom of God?' 1 

THE EPISTLE TO POLYCARP. 

This epistle is a solemn exhortation from Ignatius in 
chains to Polycarp, who was also destined to be among the 
martyrs of the Lamb. He exhorts him thus : " Be watch- 
' ful, having thy spirit always awake ; . . . . where the labor 

i is great, the gain is the more The times demand 

1 thee, as the pilots the winds ; and he that is tost in a tem- 

* pest, the haven where he would be ; that thou mayest 
1 attain unto God. Be sober as the combatant of God ; 

* the crown proposed to thee is immortality ; and eternal 
' life, concerning which thou art also fully persuaded. . . . 



IGNATIUS. 79 

Stand firm and immovable, as an anvil when it is beaten 
upon. It is the part of a brave combatant to be beaten, 
1 and yet overcome. ... Be every day better than another 
1 consider the times, and expect him who is above all time 
1 eternal, invisible, though for our sakes made visible ; im 
1 palpable and impassable, yet for us subjected to suffer 
1 ings ; enduring all manner of ways for our salvation," 

In the second chapter he says, " Labor with one another ; 
c contend together, run together, suffer together, sleep to- 
1 g ether, and rise together, as the stewards, and asses- 
c sors, and ministers of God." I am not positive, but I 
judge from the passage, that by suffering, sleeping and 
rising, he refers to the death and resurrection of the saints. 
If so, we find it in accordance with hid own and others' 
teachings. The saints are to sleep in Jesus i together,' till 
they rise in the resurrection at the last day. 

Thus we conclude our extracts from the writings of this 
ancient and excellent writer. And here we must remark, 
as concerning other of his cotemporaries : We find not one 
hint that all men have immortal souls. We find no men- 
tion of undying souls, immortal minds or deathless spirits. 
We hear nothing of a hell of fire, into which the spirits of 
the wicked are plunged at death. We hear nothing of 
eternal torment for sinners in the world to come. We 
hear, on the other hand, of Christ, who is our true life ; 
of immortality presented in the Gospel, of death for the 
sinners, and of the crown of immortality being set before 
the victorious warrior in the fight of faith. One or two 
passages might be construed to favor the idea of a con- 
scious state of the righteous in death; but these are sus- 
ceptible of another interpretation, and besides, in some of 
these cases the Latin copy contradicts the Greek, showing 



80 THE OLD PATHS. 

that it has been interpolated or corrupted. Is the faith 
of Ignatius a novelty ? Are those who believe as he did 
innovators, infidels and heretics ? Readers, judge ye. Are 
they not rather walking in the old paths ? Can we hope to 
be more correct in our understanding of the apostles' wri- 
tings than was " the blessed Ignatius," who saw and talked 
with them ? Have we not reason to be strengthened in 
our faith, when we find that the earliest uninspired teach- 
ers of Christianity believed and taught just as we believe 
that the apostles taught before them ? 



CHAPTER VI. 
POLYCARP, A. D. 108. 

" Poltcarp, disciple of the Apostles, who received the Bishopric of 
the church in Smyrna from the eye witnesses and ministeas of the 
Lord."— Eusebius, B. 3, c. 36. 

Among the brilliant examples of primitive piety and 
faith, I know of none more remarkable than that of Poly- 
carp. He is termed by Irenseus "A man who had been 
1 instructed by the Apostles, and had familiar intercourse 
1 with many that had seen Christ, and had also been ap- 
' pointed bishop by the apostles in Asia, in the church at 
c Smyrna, whom we also have seen in our youth, for he 
1 lived a long time, and to a very advanced age, when after 
' a glorious and most distinguished martyrdom, he departed 
( this life. He always taught what he had learned from 
the Apostles, what the church had handed down, and 
'what is the only true doctrine. All the churches bear 
1 witness to these things, and those that have been the suc- 
' cessors of Polycarp, to the present time."* He left what 
Irenaeus calls " an excellent epistle to the Philippians, 
1 from which they who are willing, and are concerned for 
1 their own salvation may learn both the character of his 
< faith, and the doctrine of the truth." 

* Irenasus Adversus Haer. Lib. iii. c. 3, sect. 4. Eusebius Eccl. 
Hist. B. iv. c. 14. 



82 THE OLD PATHS. 

Irenseus mentions Polycarp with great respect in a let- 
ter to Florinus, as follows: 

" I can tell the place in which the blessed Polycarp sat 
i and taught, and his going out and coming in, and the man- 
1 ner of his life, and the form of his person, and the dis- 
' courses he made to the people ; and how he related his 
1 conversation with John, and others who had seen the 
1 Lord ; and how he related their sayings, and what he had 
1 heard from them concerning the Lord ; both concerning 
' his miracles and his doctrine, as he had received them 
1 from the eye witnesses of the Word of Life : all which 
1 Polycarp related agreeable to the Scriptures."* 

Eusebius also, after mentioning various Christians who 
lived in the time of Trajan, says, "At that time flourished 
'in Asia, Polycarp, an intimate disciple of the apostles, 
' who received the bishopric of the church in Smyrna from 
1 the eye witnesses and ministers of the Lord."f 

Jerome in his book of Illustrious Men \ says u Poly- 
c carp, the disciple of John the apostle, and by him or- 
£ dained bishop of Smyrna, was the prince of all Asia. 
1 Forasmuch as he had seen and been taught by some of the 
1 Apostles, and those who had seen the Lord. ... In the 
1 reign of Marcus Antonius and L. Aurelius Commodus, in 
1 the fourth persecution after Nero, he was condemned to 
1 the flames at Smyrna, the proconsul being present, and all 
c the people in the amphitheatre demanding his death. He 
1 wrote to the Philippians a very useful epistle, which to 
* this day is read in the assembly of Asia." 

Says Dr. A. Clarke, " Polycarp, one of the disciples of 

* Euseb. Eccl. Hist. B. v. ch. 20. f Ibid - B. iii. ch. 36. 

$ Cap. 13. 



POLYCARP. 83 

* John, and bishop of Smyrna, supposed to be the messen- 
1 ger of that church, to whom St. John is directed to send 
'an Epistle, Rev. ii: 8-11. He was sentenced to be 
1 burned alive for the testimony of Christ, a. d. 166."* 

Let us now proceed to consider the writings of this 
ancient Christian, who was taught by that disciple whom 
Jesus loved. Probably we shall gain instruction from his 
words, and learn what was that sure and steadfast hope 
which sustained him amid the perils and persecutions of 
a Christian's life, and amid the pain and anguish of a mar- 
tyr's death. We will examine his 

EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 

In the first chapter he thus writes : " Wherefore, gird- 
1 ing up the loins of your minds ; serve the Lord with fear, 

* and in truth ; laying aside all empty and vain speech, and 
1 the error of many ; believing in him that raised up our 
1 Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and hath given him 
1 glory, and a throne at his right hand. To whom all 

* things are made subject, both that are in heaven, and that 
c are in earth ; whom every living creature shall worship ; 
1 who shall come to be the judge of the quick and dead ; 

* whose blood God shall require of them that believe not in 
1 him. But he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall 
' also raise up us in like manner, if we do his will, and 
1 walk according to his commandments ; and love those 
things which he loved." 

In the second chapter he exhorts them to be " blame- 
1 less. . . . Not false accusers ; not double-tongued ; not 
1 lovers of money ; but moderate in all things ; compas- 
1 sionate, careful ; walking according to the truth of the 

* Sac. Lit. p. 91. 



84 THE OLD PATHS. 

' J Lord, who was the servant of all. Whom if we please 
1 in this present world, we shall also be made partakers of 
i that which is to come, according as he has promised to 
1 us, that he will raise us from the dead ; and that if we 
shall walk worthy of him, we shall also reign together with 
him, if we believe." 

Again he exhorts to be " Not easy to believe any thing 
1 against any ; not severe in judgment ; knowing that we 

* are all debtors in point of sin. 1£ therefore we pray to 
c the Lord that he would forgive us, we ought also to for- 
'give others ; for we are all in the sight of our Lord and 
1 God ; and must all stand before the judgment seat of 
1 Christ ; and shall every one give an account of himself. 
c Let us therefore serve him in fear, and with all reverence 
6 as both himself hath commanded ; and as the Apostles 
1 who have preached the Gospel unto us, and the prophets 
1 who have foretold the coming of our Lord, have taught us." 

In the third chapter he declares that " Whosoever does 
1 not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, he is 
' Antichrist : and whosoever does not confess his suffering 
1 upon the cross is from the devil, and whosoever perverts 
c the oracles of God to his own lusts, and says that there 
i shall neither be any resurrection, nor judgment, he is 

* the first-born of satan. . . . Let us therefore, without 
1 ceasing, hold steadfastly to him who is our hope, and the 
i earnest of our righteousness, even Jesus Christ ; who, 
1 his own self, bare our sins in his own body on the tree ; 
' who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. 
c But suffered all for us, that we might live through 
1 him. . . . When it is in your power to do good, defer it 
i not ; for charity deliver eth from death." 

These are all the references to a future state that I find 



POLYCARP. 85 

in the epistle of Folycarp. But there is a record of some 
of his last words, which furnishes something appropriate to 
the present purpose. It is contained in a letter written 
by the church at Smyrna, where he labored, giving an ac- 
count of his death. Eusebius has preserved most of it in 
his history, and it has come down to us elsewhere entire, 

When brought before the proconsul, he maintained his 
faith with a courage that nothing could daunt. " Swear/ 3 
said the governor, " and I will dismiss you. Revile 
'Christ. 7 ' Polycarp replied, " Eighty-and-six years have 
' 1 served him, and he never did me wrong ; and how can 
' I now blaspheme my King who has saved me ?" To all 
the threats of his persecutors he returned similar answers. 
Enraged at his constancy, they prepared the funeral pile 
to burn him. As they were about nailing him to the stake, 
he objected, declaring that the Lord would give him power 
to remain unmoved in the fire. But he, closing his hands 
behind him, and bound to the stake as a noble victim 
selected from the great flock, an acceptable sacrifice to 
Almighty God, said, " Father, of thy well-beloved and 
1 blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received 

* the knowledge of thee, the God of angels and powers, 
1 and all creation, and of all the family of the righteous 
1 that live before thee, I bless thee that thou hast thought me 
' worthy of the present day and hour, to have a share in 
1 the number of the martyrs and in the cup of Christ, unto 

1 the RESURRECTION of ETERNAL LIFE, BOTH of SOUL and 

1 body, in the incorruptible felicity of the Holy Spirit ; 

* among whom may I be received in thy sight this day, as 
1 a rich and acceptable sacrifice as thou the faithful and 
f true God hast prepared, hast revealed and fulfilled. 

* Wherefore, on this account, and for all things, I praise 



86 me old paths. 

1 thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee, through the eternal high 
1 priest, Jesus Christ, thy well-beloved Son, Through 
i whom, glory be to thee with him in the Holy Ghost, both 
1 now and forever. Amen." # 

Thus prayed the faithful servant, and then the flames of 
the faggot-fire and the sword of the executioner terminated 
his sufferings and his toils* But his words remain. He 
being dead yet gpeaketh. And what is his hope of future 
life ? Does he mention the immortality of the soul or the 
consciousness of the dead ? Not at all. Does he speak 
of going to heaven or hell at death ? By no means. Yet 
he was a disciple of John the Revelator. He was inti- 
mately acquainted with that holy man. He heard from 
him the doctrines of the Gospel, and taught what he had 
thus learned. He points continually to the resurrection 
and judgment. He expected reward then, and not till 
then. And his dying words show that he expected " the 
resurrection to eternal life," would be a resurrection of 
" b'oth soul and body." When threatened with the flames, 
he referred to " the judgment to come, and the fire of eter- 
i nal punishment reserved for the wicked." Hence he 
believed that the wicked were not punished till the judg- 
ment, that then they would be punished with^re, and that 
their punishment was everlasting or eternal, that as the 
apostle says they " shall be punished with everlasting de* 
i struction,' 5 and shall, like the cities of the plain, suffer 
" the vengeance of eternal fire?' 1 But of eternal torment, 
or torture or suffering, we find no intimation in any por* 
tion of the writings of this ancient martyr. 

Thus closes the testimony of Poiycarp and of the Apos- 
tolic fathers. Their testimony has been given without re* 
* Euseb, Eccl. Hist. B. iv. ch. 15. 



POLYfcARP. 87 

Serve. They agree in their teachings concerning the doc- 
trine of a future life. They extend the promise of that 
life to those and those only who believe on Jesus Christ. 
They threaten death or destruction to the disobedient and 
the rebellious. They point to the resurrection of the deadj 
both of soul and body, and to the world to come, and teach 
us then and there to anticipate the Christian's reward and 
crown. 

This was the primitive doctrine of a future Life— Life 
in Christ, death out of Christ. These are the old paths. 
This is the good way. And now> having referred in the 
commencement to the opinion of the learned Dr. A. Clarke, 
who says that the writings of the Apostolical Fathers " for 
( their deep piety, simplicity, and divine unction^ form a 
1 proper connecting link between those of the Evangelists 
1 and Apostles; and those of the Primitive Fathers," I 
will add to it the testimony of the learned Archbishop 
Wake, from whose translation of these Epistles our ex- 
tracts have chiefly been made. This pious prelate says, 
that these Epistles are a full and perfect collection of " all 
' the genuine writings that remain to us of the Apostolical 
1 Fathers, and carry on the antiquity of the church to about 
' a hundred and fifty years after Christ;* that except the 
1 Holy Scriptures, there is nothing remaining of the truly 
1 genuine Christian antiquity more early ;f that they con- 
c tain all that can with any certainty be depended upon of 
1 the most Primitive Fathers,;): who had not only the ad^ 
' vantage of living in the apostolical times 5 of hearing the 
* holy ApostleSj and conversing with them, but were most 

* Abp. Wake's Apostolical Fathers, Bagster's Edition, 8vo., 
1817. Preliminary Discourse, p. 106. 

t lb; 120. $ lb. 126. 



88 TliE OLD PAT±iS, 

L too ;* that we cannot with any reason^ doubt of what they 
' deliver to us as the Gospel of Christ, but ought to receive 
' of them persons of very eminent character in the church 
* it, if not with equal veneration, } 7 et but with a little less 
1 respect than we do the sacred writings of those who were 
c their masters and instructors." 

With this estimate in the main, we are not disposed to 
find much fault. We invite the reader to receive " what 
they deliver to us, as the Gospel of Christ," so far as it 
agrees with the sacred oracles. And we invite the opposer 
to present his reasons for disbelieving or deriding that 
which we have shown to be the doctrine of these holy mem 
We invite the candid to investigate the matter, and thus 
enquire for the Old Paths. 

* lb. 128.- 



END OF PART h 



ST; B.— Tile Second Part is ill a forward state of preparation, 
and has only been delayed in consequence of the difficulty of ob- 
taining some worksj for which I have sent to Europe. It will 
probably be ready in a few months, if God shall give me health 
and time to perfect it ; and will be issued as soon afterwards as 
lie provides the means to do it, 



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